IN the darkest days of The Troubles in Northern Ireland, those who pleaded for peace would say: ‘Leave the fighting to McGuigan.’
Barry McGuigan was way more than a boxer, way more than a world champion. He came from a country divided by war, but both sides came together when he fought and 40 years ago this summer, McGuigan gave Ireland one of the best nights in its entire sporting history.
In front of 26,000 fans at Loftus Road football ground and 18 million more tuning in to watch on the BBC, McGuigan toppled the great featherweight champion Eusebio Pedroza.
One of the 18 million watching was a 17-year-old Scott Murray.
“I watched it at dad’s nightclub in Cannock on a little television in the corner,” he said. “It felt like everyone wanted Barry to win that fight.
“He was a household name.
“There was all the build-up on the BBC leading up to the fight, which everyone could watch, and you don’t get that these days.
“You used to get attached to fighters by watching all their fights and learning their story.
“There were only four television channels in those days, no internet and everyone read the newspapers.”
They read about the ‘Clones Cyclone,’ a wholesome boy-next-door whose father sang ‘Danny Boy’ before the opening bell and could fight all night long.
“Barry was exciting,” said Murray. “He was a bit of a freak!
“He was small, had long arms, big fists, was as hard as nails, well spoken and he could really fight.”
1985 was a golden year for boxing – and Irish sport.
In April, Marvin Hagler and Thomas Hearns crammed 15 rounds of action into less than eight minutes when they clashed for the middleweight championship – and a couple of weeks later, Dennis Taylor toppled Steve Davis in snooker’s black ball final.
Four decades on, McGuigan beating Pedroza is fondly remembered by everyone who saw it and Murray is helping McGuigan tell the story of his greatest night.
Murray is bringing McGuigan to Bar Sport in Cannock on Thursday, June 5 and there are further dates in his hometown of Monaghan on the 40th anniversary of the fight (June 8) and then Bristol (June 12).
McGuigan will answer questions from diners and the 15-round fight will be screened in full.
Diners will see Pedroza make his 20th defence of the WBA featherweight championship.
“Pedroza was a great champion,” said Murray of the silky-smooth Panamanian.
“He wasn’t old, he wasn’t finished.
“It was no pushover for Barry.”
McGuigan was a fresh-faced 24-year-old who had never gone past 10 rounds before in 27 previous fights.
He set a pace Pedroza couldn’t live with for the full 15 rounds to beat him on points with what Boxing News called “the finest performance in a British ring since (Randolph) Turpin beat (Sugar Ray) Robinson in 1951.”
Murray, who has worked with McGuigan “around a dozen times” on his ‘Legends Nights’, said: “These are going to be special nights.
“The whole 15 rounds will be shown and then Barry will talk about the fight afterwards.”
