Caught the last half of a documentary on him the other day, never really knew much about him Really surprised to learn he retired at 28? After a comeback fight which was stopped due to a bad cut he couldn't really do anything about, having lost his title in an outdoor venue that was 100 degrees hot.... sounds like he could have come back stronger, no shame in those losses He said his heart wasn't in it but when you see him commentating you can see he is real passionate about boxing Did he do the right thing? Did he have stuff going on, I think hid brother committed suicide? Was he a good boxer? How do you rate him? He is about 60 now and still looks in good shape like he can handle himself
he said something along the lines of 'its not the number of years in age but the amount of punches you tuck' personally i think the death of young ali affected him alot & he wanted to get out of boxing before there was even a slight chance on his health, which to me is fair enough at the end of the day he was world champion, #1 in his division & beat one of the £ 4 £ kings, think he accomplished everything he wanted, wasnt short of a few bob, why not retire if the desire to compete wasnt 100% there
Barry's only in his early fifties [ame]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barry_McGuigan[/ame] http://boxrec.com/list_bouts.php?human_id=12746&cat=boxer I remember him being a really exciting fighter to watch, always busy and up for the fight. [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDyJcWlM6aU[/ame] [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sB3raA7oaB4&feature=relmfu[/ame] Barry's father died in 1987 and he retired shortly afterwards. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/p...tory-that-could-break-your-heart-2293134.html I always admired him as a man who knew fighting was a sport that belonged in the ring and not a religion.
Met him a few times. Anyone who lived round the Canterbury region of Kent either saw him or bumped into him every so often. He had part-ownership in a couple of businesses down there. Think he still lives in that region. Genuinely nice bloke. Nobody had a bad word to say about him.
There's a difference between being passionate about the sport and actually putting in the time and effort into beating your body up in preparation for getting punched in the head for a possible half hour or so.And he wasn't in a position where he needed the money,and was a star in his own right.No need to go through all that again to do something you've already achieved.
Barry's lefts to the body against Cruz were great. That night he lost was a big vegas fight card. June 23, 1986. Duran/Sims also fought that day and the main fight was Thomas Hearns vs. Mark Medal where Tommy defended his WBC superwelterweight title for the last time.
Maybe he had a bit more to give, but he himself will tell you he retired at the perfect time. And I wouldn't argue with him. He looks and talks perfectly fine, like he never even had a career of being punched in the head.
This is a subject close to my heart.That defeat against Cruz took something away that he could never get back.I often wondered what woyld've happened had that fight been indoors or later on when it was cooler.Barry had genuine ATG potential and had a wonderful fan-friendly style. Losing to McDonnell was a bit like Barrera losing to Khan;meaningless in the grand scheme. I've recorded the doc but haven't watched yet.Thanks for doing the thread.Barry doesn't get due credit for me.
perhaps he put too much pressure on himself, this idea of him being a beacon of peace for Ireland? Perhaps he thought he was letting the country down if he lost ? He wasn't of course, but from the docu he seemed to have some regret or some discontent etc when reflecting on his retirement Heyho good to hear more on him tho
