Barry McGuigan Care Package for our classic friends across the pond (3x fresh fights)

Haha where do I begin. Really got into the fights in 78 . Weekends were full of great Boxing. Worked some weekends so missed some great stuff as no VCRS yet. Holmes was my guy along with the usual suspects moving forward Duran Hagler Arguello ect. Matt Franklin Marvin Johnson 2 blew me away for a long time. Never saw anything like it. Was hitting 2 gyms outside Phila off and on and was a boxing junkie up til the mid 90's when TV really dropped.
As far as the times and people into Stones Led Zep ect. Enjoyed Charles Bronson movies with my Pop.
I'm a first generation American of mostly Eastern Euro descent so I enjoy the success of Kovalev Lomachenko and the Klitschkos although I only liked Vitali.
Maybe that's too much info for you lol but tried to answer you honestly as possible Russ.

 

He was before my time as I'm only a young'un (so thanks for the uploads), but Barry is very fondly remembered by people of that generation and everyone knows 'wee Barry'. He doesn't have any statues or memorials or anything like that, or even his own mural (though he does appear on a mural with a whole load of other important Irish/Northern Irish figures:
https://extramuralactivity.files.wordpress.com/2013/03/2013-02-18-atvansfeetcrop.jpg

I imagine he'll get a statue in Belfast at some point (though he is actually from Clones, in Monaghan), but it could take a while...Rinty Monaghan was born in Belfast and he only got a statue put up 3 years ago.

 

Sounds good...I do not have a YouTube channel matter of fact I still have to figure out how to upload on here. What is your channel so I can add to my favorites

 

A unification match with Azumah Nelson was one of the anticipated matchups of the 1980s that unfortunately never happened.

 

Wanted to see that so much Ken ,but alas Barry went on to fight Stevie boy ,it could have being a cracker of a fight.

 

Yes, they probably underestimated Cruz and certainly didn’t do their homework regarding fighting 15 rounds outdoors in the blazing Las Vegas heat. Barry was never the same again and you could say it was the beginning of the end for him, with the brutal gruelling nature of the loss of his title and personal and managerial problems outside the ring keeping him out of the ring for the next 2 years or so. Only had a few more fights after that including a loss against fellow brit, Jim McDonnell which convinced him that his desire and ability were no longer at his previous level and he retired at the relatively young age of 28.

Still, looking back, his thrilling journey to the top plus his personal backstory made him arguably one of the most popular and exciting British fighters ever. A popularity that remains to this day amongst the the British public.

 

Very true Ken .Can remember his fighting days like it was yesterday. I expected him to stop Cruz late on but not to be .The knock downs went against him ,not sure but without them he may have held on to his title.

 

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There is a nice documentary on McGuigan on youtube. I watched it yesterday so your thread piqued my interest. He really had heart and determination and a great work ethic. Too bad the Cruz loss ruined him. McGuigan v. Nelson on 1986 would have been an intriguing matchup.

 

Being of part Irish extraction (like soooo many Americans) I was instantly drawn to McGuigan...his style, personna as well as his symbolic significance to his native country. I think his career was truncated by that Cruz fight and the debilitating heat he had to endure...nevertheless, he lost...Cruz handled it better. I just wish Barry had regrouped and maybe secured a rematch...or failing to do that, just had gone after another titlist. I loved the whole schtick of his dad singing O Danny Boy, the effect he had in getting his beleagured homeland to stop fighting when he defended his crown...

 

True,...a McGuigan-Nelson fight would have been huge...and there was real contempt and disdain that Nelson had for Barry....I would have loved to have seen them fight.

 

• Well, waaaay back then, I rooted for Barry...and was veerrrry happy when he won, but I never had him "up there" with the elite...but y'know, every fighter you're a fan of doesn't have to be of the "elite", but I loved Barry anyway...especially, of course when he toppled that long standing institution called Eusebio Pedroza, and that thriller with that mega-tough guy Juan "Mr. Chin" LaPorte...so Mcguigan wasn't in the highest pantheon of greats, I still enjoyed watching him immensely...every Japanese fighter you're a fan of doesn't have to be a Fighting Harada,..every Argentine doesn't have to be a Monzon, Galindez or a Locche, ....and by the way (a quick segue), it's been pushed back, but I AM gonna do two threads...on two different Japanese champs that I was big fan of...in a couple of days....and neither one was name Harada....don't mean to be a tease, but they'll be of higher quality than if I had attempted them already.