Shane McGuigan

[Master]

An infectious sound of punches thudding against leather bags and their supportive chains clanking reverberates around the room on a typical Wednesday afternoon at Shane McGuigan's boxing gym in east London.

Tucked away discreetly inside Leyton County Cricket Ground, European cruiserweight champion Chris Billam-Smith and newly-signed prospects Adam and Hassan Azim are working up a sweat while going through the gears in training. Lawrence Okolie is also about to complete a sparring session ahead of his world cruiserweight title defence later that month.

Yet the trio only amount to a third of McGuigan's current roster.

'This is the most I've ever had,' the renowned coach tells Sportsmail. 'It's a stable of nine. We've got prospects, we've got Caroline Dubois who's just made her debut, we've got a world champion in Lawrence Okolie, fringe world-title challengers like Dan Dubois.

'So it's a mixture of males and females and it's great, it's booming at the moment.'

As well as the aforementioned six, McGuigan is also stewarding the careers of Anthony Fowler, who is embarking on a new journey up at middleweight following defeat against Liam Smith last year, former European light-welterweight champion Robbie Davies Jr and fledgling featherweight Ellie Scotney.

His talented batch of fighters are at contrasting stages of their respective careers. Okolie, for example, is on the cusp of unifying the 200lbs division against a fellow world champion, while, in comparison, the female Dubois sibling only recently got up and running as a professional.

In his duty as trainer, a role he already has 12 years of experience in at just 34 years of age, McGuigan must attend to each of their individual needs with acute awareness and attention. Though is that a tough task with so many to juggle?

'That's what everyone's asking me, but at the same time it's down to me to structure the days,' he says.

'I get in here a little bit earlier and I finish a little bit later. The ones that are fighting in two weeks' time, three weeks' time, I give them more of a priority with slots.

'The main slots everyone wants are anywhere between 11am and 1pm. They're the ideal slots. If you're not fighting for three months, you'll be going in at 9:30am or 9am. Then as you get closer to your fight you get the chance to go in your more perfect time slot.

'So more people filter in later in the afternoon, but it's up to me to schedule it, organise it and keep people happy.'

Putting fighters through their paces on a daily basis and preparing diligently for those sessions, all while mapping out their paths to pugilistic glory behind the scenes, seems an engrossing and consuming profession. Particularly when dealing with a stable as extensive and high-level as McGuigan's.

When he is not shipping jabs and hooks on the pads or overlooking sparring, the young trainer is tasked with analysing the day's work, planning the next, studying upcoming opponents, organising future bouts, carrying out interviews, attending press conferences and leading the corner on fight nights.

It must be a challenge to switch off from the sport when returning home in search of leisure and relaxation, but McGuigan has found a balance over the past decade.

'I've been doing it for 12 years now. I've learnt when to rein it in and switch off, because it's not easy,' he reveals.

'The problem is, you want the best for everyone and you want to make sure you give them your undivided attention and time, and that occupies your brain non stop.

'But it's down to me to just say, "now it's time to spend time with my missus Taylor, chill out and switch off."

'I've kind of mastered it now and I can actually go on holidays without having to pick up my phone, which is good.'

Rare time away from the blood, sweat and tears of the boxing gym is often spent on the golf course.

'I've got a single-figure handicap,' McGuigan boasts. 'I was better when I was younger, but then I went into boxing.'

[Master]

As the son of Irish boxing legend Barry McGuigan, Shane initially ventured into the sport as an aspiring amateur bidding to follow in the footsteps of his famous father - and he definitely had some talent. Despite sweeping up national titles in Ireland and earning selection for the 2010 Commonwealth Games, it quickly became apparent that he lacked the passion and willpower to remain dedicated from a physical standpoint.

His transition into coaching was more by chance than forethought. It came when Barry, manager to European super-bantamweight champion Carl Frampton at the time, asked him to hold the pads for his Northern Irish charge. In the end, Frampton's long-time coaches Gerry Storey and Gerry Storey Jr took themselves out of the equation when the pair struck up a formidable bond.

A 24-year-old McGuigan was then tasked with leading Frampton's corner for the most important night of his career to date; a world-title shot against Spain's Kiko Martinez. And it was a test they passed with flying colours, getting their hands on the IBF championship via unanimous decision after a commanding display over 12 rounds.

'I was doing the majority of the work with my dad, and on fight day Gerry Storey and Gerry Storey Jr were coming in to do the corner. They'd be the main voices because dad was managing Carl,' McGuigan recalls.

'But eventually I became the head voice because Carl was listening to me and tuned into me the most, so they [Storey and Storey Jr] didn't want to be part of the Kiko Martinez title fight. They didn't feel like they had done the work and if he lost then it would be a reflection on them, so they said they weren't going to be part of the prep and that was fine.

'Carl just looked across at me and said "let's go on our own then". And he won it, put on an amazing performance and that was when I was 24.'

Frampton went on to create history under McGuigan's tutelage before they went their separate ways in 2017, first toppling bitter rival Scott Quigg to unify the super-bantamweight division and then becoming a two-weight world champion by moving up and beating 126lbs chief Leo Santa Cruz.

They came unstuck against an improved Santa Cruz the second time around, nonetheless, and amid a legal dispute with Barry and his Cyclone Promotions company, Frampton parted company with Shane after his first professional defeat.

Yet, McGuigan's remarkable work leading his corner at such a tender age had not gone unnoticed, and as their working relationship began to sour another two marquee names came through the door.

The first of those was David Haye, the former heavyweight and cruiserweight world champion turned A-list celebrity on a comeback trail after almost four years out of the ring, and the second was George Groves, Carl Froch's iconic Wembley dance partner still hunting a world title after three unsuccessful attempts.

Whispers of McGuigan's wisdom beyond his years had clearly done the rounds and both Haye and Groves, two ex-pupils of esteemed British coach Adam Booth, were impressed enough to instil their faith in him.

He went on to spend two-and-a-half years with Groves, inspiring the confidence-shattered super-middleweight to seven straight victories, his holy-grail world title and bragging rights over Chris Eubank Jr before a career-ending stoppage at the hands of Callum Smith came in 2018.

Though in the case of Haye, who was in his late 30s when teaming up with the 28-year-old, there would not be a similar fairytale story. Evidently beyond the peak of his powers, Haye initially claimed knockout wins in straightforward return bouts against outranked journeymen Mark de Mori and Arnold Gjergjaj, which preceded a disastrous night against Tony Bellew.

After rupturing his Achilles tendon in an astonishing sixth round, the crestfallen pre-fight favourite hobbled on valiantly for the next five with the effective use of only one leg, before McGuigan finally put him out of his misery by throwing the towel in the 11th. The waving of the white flag marked the end of their working relationship as well as the fight, and when reflecting on his time with Haye, McGuigan concedes that the gulf in age made for too awkward of a dynamic.

'There was eight years between us,' he says. 'He's born in 1980 and I'm '88. He'd also made millions and millions of pounds, was a two-weight world champion, couldn't walk down the street without getting recognised.

'That was hard because even though I came from a famous dad and boxing heritage, I didn't box as a pro, I never won world titles, and he gave me the respect because he listened, but I was still developing as a coach and finding my feet.

'I could get through to all the people that gave me attention and discipline, but I think David knew his body really well and I was sort of figuring it out. So it wasn't the best relationship, but if I had it do all over again I wouldn't say no to it. It's just frustrating because I wish I'd have got him at the right time.

'It's the same with George. We had an eight-fight run together and he won seven of them, won a world title, it was great, but I wish we'd have got together sooner.'

McGuigan insists he would not rebuff the opportunity to coach Haye if he could turn back the clock. However, does the more rounded and experienced 34-year-old spot mistakes when glancing back at his younger self?

'There aren't regrets, but there are a lot of things that we could have done better, and if I could do it all again I would have done certain things differently with certain fighters,' he admits.

'But I still don't have many losses to my name, and the losses that we have got are the likes of Callum Smith against Groves, Vasyl Lomachenko and Ryan Garcia against Campbell.

'They're all elite fighters. It's not like we're losing at domestic level.'

Haye and Groves arrived in McGuigan's gym at the tail end of their careers, with the fundamentals already deep-rooted in their respective skill sets after numerous years in the sport.

Contrastingly, the likes of Caroline Dubois, Scotney and the Azim brothers are raw prospects in need of schooling and nurturing. This gives McGuigan the chance to mould them into exactly the kind of fighter he wishes, which he admits is more rewarding as a coach.

'I prefer it, but from an investment standpoint it's not an immediate return,' he points out.

'If you've got X amount of hours in a day, it would be easy for me to say I'm just going to take on championship fighters, because they always gravitate towards you anyway if you're a good coach. So I'll get the Hayes, I'll get the Groves, Campbells that come in.

'Even Lawrence Okolie started elsewhere, Fowler started elsewhere. Those are the ones that end up coming to you anyway.

'But if you get them young, it's 10,000 hours to ingrain a habit, and if you ingrain those habits and you're doing 100,000 hours, 200,000 hours with the perfect technique, they're going to be a better fighter.'

Taking unseasoned youngsters under his wing prevents McGuigan from having the same kind of regrets he has with Haye, Groves and Campbell. Should they remain under his tutelage for a lengthy period of time, he can eventually end their working relationship knowing they journeyed as far as it was possible to go. There are no what ifs.

And while not every boxing hopeful he joins forces with will be completely fresh, McGuigan expects his door to continue revolving after slowly shaking off his new-kid-on-the-block tag and acquiring a reputation as one of the most esteemed trainers in world boxing.

'There's so many kids coming out of the Olympics now and I know that I'll get a few of them in a couple of years' time,' he asserts. 'I might not get them now, but like with Lawrence, I know I'll get them soon.

'Luckily Lawrence hadn't failed, he just had bad performances and knew he was capable of more, so he came in. And that's down to the individual to say, "I'm better than this, I need to go to a gym and have the respect".

'That's not even me blowing my own trumpet, it's just I can get through to them because I have a level of respect within the industry that goes a long way. You can have the best coach in the world, but if you feel like you're the main attention and it's their first rodeo, then that respect gets lost and they don't listen.

'That's the good position I'm now in and it's taken years to develop, to gather that respect from my peers, in the coaching industry and also from fighters.'

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[Memphis]

Sunny Edwards best mate.

Are Cyclone Promotions still a thing? Still has Josh Taylor listed on their meet the boxers page and haven't posted anything to socials for a couple of years. I can't recall anyone saying anything bad about Shane as a trainer. But the family have got their share of detractors. My gut feel is that Barry is the problem. I bet Shane's current stable have got water tight trainer boxer agreements.

[Master]

Shane McGuigan: ‘If one of my fighters ever had a brain injury, I’d be out the door’

“I feel like I’ve got too much empathy sometimes,” Shane McGuigan says, sat across the hallway.

We’re at his gym in Leyton, speaking just outside the main room in which his boxers draw up their pugilistic plans and prepare to execute them come fight night.

“I know the long-lasting effects of brain trauma. It’s terrible to see certain fighters suffer brain injuries and potentially even pass away because of fights. If I ever had one of them, pfft, I’d be out the door. I wouldn’t be coaching again.”

An automatic ceiling light intermittently dims, with McGuigan occasionally waving his arm gently to shed even more light on the topic at hand. In this moment, it is fighter health.

McGuigan references George Groves, the now-retired WBA super-middleweight champion whom he trained between 2015 and 2018. Now the pair’s relationship is purely a friendship, with McGuigan serving as godfather to one of Groves’ sons.

“George had Eddie Gutknecht, where Gutknecht had to have a bleed removed, he was in a coma,” McGuigan, 34, recalls of the 2016 bout in which his friend won via decision, before Groves’ opponent was rushed to a London hospital for emergency brain surgery. “He woke up, but he’s non-responsive now,” McGuigan says of Gutknecht. “Even being involved in that was horrendous. He came up to me after the fight and touched gloves with George, said ‘Well done,’ then walked round and did it like four times. I said to my dad: ‘He’s not right.’ Then he collapsed in the changing room.

“I don’t like to see my fighters take punishment, either. I’ve only seen one of my fighters get a concussion, once in 12 years. But I’ve had guys come into this gym and ask where the exit is, because they’re so badly concussed, and I’m like: ‘The door’s there, mate...’ All I’m thinking the rest of the day is: ‘God, I hope they’re okay.’”

When asked about the best and worst moment of his coaching career, McGuigan – whose current fighters include Lawrence Okolie, Daniel Dubois and Anthony Fowler – admits that both occasions in fact involve Groves.

“I have a lot of great moments. George winning his world title against [Fedor] Chudinov was amazing, because he had a broken jaw. I think the worst moment for me, in terms of to watch, was George against Callum Smith. George didn’t make the count, but I had the towel in hand. That’s horrible. George’s shoulder wasn’t 100 per cent, but then also to get stopped in seven rounds, it’s tough to watch that...

“Because it’s down to you, it’s your responsibility,” McGuigan says, as the conversation quickly veers back to the topic of fighter health. “That’s not me saying that any coach who’s had a fighter that’s had brain trauma [is at fault], because it’s really hard to tell. And you don’t even know, there could be a slow bleed from sparring, then they go into a fight... but that’s a responsibility that you’ve got to live with for the rest of your life.

“You’ve got to understand that this is a sport, that’s all it is. The problem with boxing is, if you lose, you might go from getting £100,000 to getting £15,000. The discrepancy is massive, so fighters will push themselves another little bit. Even coaches think: ‘I need to make sure they win, that money’s coming in.’ It’s brutal.”

Boxing has indeed always been a sport, a business, whose brutality cannot be contained by ring ropes.

The brutality that does exist within them, however, is a key reason why McGuigan’s father – British boxing icon Barry McGuigan – wished to distance his children from the sport.

“I always wanted to do it, me and Jake both did, but dad kept us well away from boxing,” McGuigan says.

McGuigan ultimately took the choice out of his father’s hands. Aged 14, he befriended a German exchange teacher at his school in Somerset, after seeing him hanging up heavy bags to hit in the hall. McGuigan and his teacher eventually began to spar together. “I don’t want to get him in trouble or anything, but I don’t think we had any kind of permission!” Soon McGuigan was able to “blag” his way past the boarding school master and along to the gym with his teacher, though Barry soon found out.

“He said: ‘Look, if you’re gonna do it, I want to be a part of it.’ He’d drive 200 miles to pick me up, take me to sparring, then drive 200 miles back. He wanted us to be able to defend ourselves. I think deep down he would have always wanted one of us to box, but he also hated the thought of our brains rattling about. I would struggle if one of my kids boxed, I reckon.”

McGuigan elected to coach after falling out of love with competing himself, first training Carl Frampton before going on to work with the likes of Josh Taylor and David Haye as well as his current roster.

At 34, McGuigan has been a similar age to most of the fighters he has coached. Yet the dynamic has not proven difficult.

“I think there’s a level of authority you have if you’re a good coach and understand the game – and if you can apply it and break it down so fighters can understand their mistakes and what they do well,” he says. Through the double doors to his left, an intermittent beep is emitted each time a fighter completes a round of training.

“It’s not about holding pads and fancy footwork; it’s about saying: ‘These are the tools you have, we have to work on your best assets as well as your negatives.’ Then, it’s about structure, gameplan.”

Above all else, it is about connection – another area where McGuigan’s empathy proves its worth.

“When there’s 10,000 or 20,000 people cheering, it’s about them tuning into that one voice.”

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