He started his professional boxing career on May 10, 1981, beating Selwyn Bell by a knockout in two rounds in Dublin. After another win, he suffered his first setback, losing a hotly disputed decision (which had him in tears) to Peter Eubank over eight rounds at Wembley, England.
After his first loss, McGuigan notched up two more wins, including one over Terry Pizzarro, and then he was given a rematch with Eubank. The second time around, McGuigan prevailed, by a knockout in the eighth round.
In 1982, McGuigan won eight fights, seven by knockout. One of these, however, almost destroyed his career and his life. Opposed by Nigeria's Young Ali on June 14, 1982, McGuigan won by a knockout in six rounds; Ali fell into a coma from which he never recovered, dying six months later in his homeland. According to the book The Ring Boxing The 20th Century, this affected McGuigan so much that he wasn't sure he wanted to keep on boxing.
However, he did continue boxing, and in 1983, he won four fights, including his first trip to fight outside Europe (when he beat Samuel Meck by a knockout in six in Ontario, Canada), before getting his first try at a title. On November 16, Italy's Valerio Nati defended his European Featherweight belt versus McGuigan in Belfast, and McGuigan won the crown with a knockout in the sixth round. He then became the number one Featherweight challenger in the World Boxing Association.
In 1984, he won five bouts, all by knockout. Among the fighters he beat were former world title challengers Jose Caba and Felipe Orozco. He also beat fringe contender Paul DeVorce to keep his chance at a Word Championship attempt alive.
In 1985, McGuigan met former world Featherweight champion Juan Laporte and won by a decision after ten rounds. Following one more win, he finally got his world title try when the WBA world featherweight champion, Eusebio Pedroza of Panama, came to London to put his title on the line at Loftus Road football stadium. McGuigan became the champion by dropping Pedroza in round seven and winning a unanimous fifteen-round decision in a fight refereed by hall of fame referee Stanley Christodoulou. Already a national hero in Ireland, McGuigan and his wife were feted in a public reception through the streets of Belfast that attracted several hundred thousand spectators. He also earned promotional deals such as a video game named Barry McGuigan Boxing, which won critical acclaim (awarded a "Sizzler!" in Zzap64). Later that year, he was named BBC Sports Personality of the Year, becoming the first (and so far only) person not born in the United Kingdom to win the award.
McGuigan made his first defence against Bernard Taylor, who was stopped in the ninth round, and then against Danilo Cabrera, who got knocked out in fourteen rounds. This proved to be a controversial stoppage: The fight was stopped after the challenger bent over to pick up his mouthpiece after losing it, a practice that is allowed in many countries but not in Ireland. Cabrera was not aware of this, and the fight was stopped. Although Cabrera's corner protested the outcome, McGuigan remained the winner by a knockout. This fight marked the end of McGuigan's extremely short peak as world champion.
For his next defence, he went to Las Vegas in June of 1986, where he faced the relatively unknown Stevie Cruz from Texas in what proved a gruelling fifteen-round title bout under a blazing sun. McGuigan held a lead halfway through, but suffered dehydration because of the extreme heat and wilted near the end, being dropped in rounds ten and fifteen. He eventually lost a close decision and his world belt, which he was never to reclaim. After the fight, McGuigan required hospitalisation because of his dehydrated state.
After that fight he retired, partly due to the death of his father in 1987. He used to say his father was his greatest inspiration and, after his death, apparently felt no reason to continue boxing. However, he returned to the ring between 1988 and 1989, beating former world title challengers Nicky Perez and Francisco Tomas Da Cruz before losing to future challenger Jim McDonnell by a technical knockout (cuts) in four rounds. McGuigan then retired permanently from boxing.
His record was 32 wins and 3 losses, with 26 wins by knockout. In January 2005, McGuigan was elected into the International Boxing Hall of Fame. Some experts have questioned the level of competition he fought during his career, observing that he did not meet the WBC Champion Azumah Nelson of Ghana, whom noted commentator Jack McGowan of the Belfast Telegraph is convinced McGuigan would not have beaten. However, former great Sir Henry Cooper believes that McGuigan at his peak was one of the best fighters ever to have emerged from Britain and Ireland.
[edit] After Boxing
McGuigan attempted to establish an association to protect the rights of boxers against what he, and others, considered omnipotent managers and promoters. In this regard, he had had a difficult time during his own career. A very close relationship with his manager deteriorated badly over time and led to a successful libel case against him by his former manager several years later.
In the 1980s he was a chat show host on BBC1.
McGuigan currently lives in London with his wife and children, one of which (Shane) goes to school at The King's School Canterbury and looks like becoming a professional boxer. Barry McGuigan currently works as a boxing commentator for SKY. He has tried his hand at acting, appearing in the movie Malicious Intent in 2000. He has a band, of which the Northern Irish actor, Adrian Dunbar, is also a member. Two biographies of McGuigan have been written.
More recently, fellow Clones native and boxer Kevin McBride has honoured McGuigan by adopting the nickname The Clones Colossus
You asked for it Hero.
Topic: The Eve of Destruction? (Read 1682 times)