Shane McGuigan has had some year. Leaving aside the small matter of marriage to his childhood sweetheart (congratulations Shane and Sophie), McGuigan has been in the corner for some of British boxing's biggest fights.
The disappointment of losses for Carl Frampton and David Haye (with whom McGuigan has now split) was offset by the joy of guiding George Groves to his first world title. Yet Groves was also involved in the most harrowing fight of all, one which left his opponent Eddie Gutknecht in a coma from which the German has yet to awake.
We caught up with McGuigan to talk recent fights, future projects, and why training is a young man's game...
Winning the world title with George Groves must have been special...
It was probably one of my best nights in boxing. People wrote George off completely, said he was done, finished, his career was at an end. A year and a half later he's just won a world title. It was a hard fight. Fedor Chudinov was almost a machine: I've never seen a person take punches like that. I've seen George hurting heavyweights with those shots in the gym, and that guy just kept standing up.
It was an emotional night, and I'm just so happy for him. He puts in so much effort, does everything he's asked. He's proved if you just knuckle down and believe in yourself then the sky's the limit.
What’s next for George?
We want the biggest fights out there. Obviously we want to have domestic showdowns, but I think George brings an appeal to all TV networks. He's a puncher, he's always in exciting fights. The big fight out there is James DeGale, but the winner of Callum Smith vs Anthony Dirrell would be a huge fight as well. George has always done it the hard way, and now's the time to get involved in big fights and roll on in.
George and James have known each other a long time. They've got respect for each other but they still dislike each other. It's a personality clash, there's a genuine hatred between the two of them. And that's what makes the fight so intriguing – plus the two of them are world class fighters.
It was George’s first fight since the Eddie Gutknecht tragedy...
That's always in the back of your mind. With Gutknecht it was such a terrible night. I believe that fight should have been stopped after nine or ten; the championship rounds didn't need to happen. It was soul-destroying really, because it's the sport that we love – we're so close to these fighters all the time, and if it was one of my fighters I'd be completely devastated. His family have no hard feelings towards George; they realise if it wasn't George it could have been somebody else.
George had someone to relate to when it came to my dad as he went through a similar situation early in his professional career. He was in the gym all the time: Dad's definitely a mentor sort of character. He settled George down a bit; he came out to Vegas and spent a lot of time with him. George had no fight signed but he came out and trained. It was good for him to get back in the ring, get back sparring again and take his mind completely off it.
Did the Gutknect incident affect you as a trainer?
It's hard to say, because I believe I know my fighters really well, and if they're not mentally there I'm going to pull them out. You've got to constantly ask questions, ask a fighter how they're doing and how they're feeling. At the end of the day it's just a sport; although it's their livelihood and their job, it is still a sport and their lives are much more important. I'm not able to comment on Eddy Gutknecht's coach; I don't know what their relationship was like. He might have been showing positive signs in the corner, and that's what makes it even more worrying. If I was ever in that position I would have to go with my instinct, go with my gut and throw in the towel. [Details on how to donate to the Eddy Gutknecht fund are at the bottom of the page.]
What can you tell us about your recent split with David Haye?
David and I parted amicably, we both gave a lot into the time that we had together. We just weren't gelling the way we could have. We still hold each other in high regard, but for each other we just weren't bonding. I've got a lot of fighters on my plate as well, and for David, I think he might want someone more on his schedule. I hope he can come back, I hope he's able to get back to where he should be, because I believe he's one of the best in the world.
Did you suggest he should retire after the Bellew fight?
I never suggested he should retire. He's got his own management team: our agreement was I'd go in and train him. And that's what I did.
As a trainer did you feel additional pressure before the Groves fight, having experienced defeat with David and Carl Frampton?
Not really. Our job as a coach is to make sure we've ticked all the boxes in training camp. Myself and Carl, we ticked every single box in that training camp and he lost to a majority decision. I thought Santa Cruz won it by one or two rounds, but it was a very hard fight at the top level. If you have a slightly below-par night you're going to come out second best.
David Haye injured his achilles. We can beat around the bush and say Tony Bellew won that fight, but he won it on default. David wasn't in a position to make any excuse after the fight because of his previous complaint about his toe and his injuries. People gave him so much credit for not mentioning it in the post-fight interviews. He was winning four rounds to one on all judges' scorecards and the main reason he lost the fight was because of his achilles.
Some people said you should have pulled out David sooner…
You've got to put it into perspective. David Haye was in there with Tony Bellew, who had fought at light heavyweight. I asked David after two or three rounds what his power was like, and he said he doesn't hit very hard. After the sixth round I said I'd give him another round. After the seventh I asked if he was feeling Bellew's punches and he said not at all. If he'd been in there with a proper heavyweight I'd have pulled him out after six rounds. But he always has a puncher's chance.
I gave him every opportunity to knock Tony Bellew out, and when his chances were obsolete I decided to pull him out. I feel I gave him the opportunity to land the shot on Bellew, and I feel I kept him in there for the right amount of time; I was pretty confident in my decision.
Carl Frampton is fighting in Belfast on 29 July – but it won’t be against Leo Santa Cruz...
We tried to make the Santa Cruz fight in Belfast, but he wasn't a man of his word. One thing I would say in his defence is that there was not a date available on UK pay-per-view TV so this lessened the potential revenue. However, he did not want to come over to Belfast.
I believe we will get the rubber match, either at the end of the year or possibly early next year. That fight's always going to be there for us. It's always going to be a huge fight. The third one always takes a little bit of time, negotiations always take a bit longer, especially if it's one apiece. Both of those fights were hard fights, and I feel Santa Cruz wanted a break from Carl Frampton!
Would you do anything differently for the third Santa Cruz fight?
The second fight Carl started a bit slow; his feet weren't working as well as they were in the first fight. In the trilogy, if Carl starts a bit sharper, if he's switched on early and not looking to punch hard, I feel he beats Santa Cruz. Not easily, but I feel he could beat him more convincingly then he did in the first encounter.
The buildup to both Frampton vs Santa Cruz fights was notably more respectful than the acrimony surrounding Haye vs Bellew...
Carl and David are completely different characters but so are Leo Santa Cruz & Tony Bellew. I don't know how much beef there was between Bellew and Haye as individuals; it was a lot between the teams. Dave Coldwell, Eddie Hearn, and obviously Bellew was on their side. For David their whole team was motivation for him. Carl's a respectful lad. He doesn't need to be shouting and hollering at people to get himself up for a fight.
A big fight looms for Josh Taylor against Ohara Davis...
Josh Taylor vs Ohara Davis is a huge fight; huge animosity between Josh and Ohara. Both very, very good prospects, both looking to get on the world stage. It's early on in their careers, and this is a big test for them as individuals to make sure they're able to stick to their boxing and stick to their game plan. Ohara is a pantomime character, he loves the bravado and the characters of boxing, but you have to fight to back it up. He can fight but I don't feel he's on Josh Taylor's level. On July 8 you're going to see skill versus mouth.
You’ve recently taken on Chantelle Cameron – what’s the difference between training a female boxer compared to training a male?
The pace women fight at is a little bit slower. I think soon championship level women's fights will be ten three-minute rounds, which I'm really happy with. They're pro athletes, just like men, and they should be doing the same rounds as the guys do. You’ve got to give them equal rights. Chantelle Cameron has a phenomenal engine, she can punch all night long.
With the guys, you can build the pace slower. If you've only got two minutes, it's almost a little bit of race: you've got to get into the round nice and fast. The training approach in terms of energy is a little bit different, but for the most part it is the same. A lot of the female boxers don't actually do weight training, and don't get themselves physically strong. That's something they need to do, because guys are naturally a little bit more explosive, so they need to work on their strength and then it's going to become a more exciting sport.
How big can female boxing grow?
If you look at female boxing you've had Laila Ali, she was huge; you've had Christy Martin who was big as well. You've had some big names, especially in Scandinavian countries – they really get excited about female boxing. It's been at a high level before, it's dipped a little bit now and we need the next star to bring it up. You've got Katie Taylor, Chantelle Cameron, Claressa Shields – these characters are going to bring out the big fights. Ultimately you need two big names to come together to get yourself into a high profile fight. We're looking at Katie Taylor for Chantelle Cameron: the two of them could be a female super fight down the line.
What’s the timeline for Taylor vs Cameron?
Katie Taylor already has a very high profile, and it's something we're going to have to build Chantelle Cameron up to. We're going to keep her active, keep her fighting on terrestrial television, and I believe she can become a star. She's really, really exciting to watch – she really can wallop, I've seen her hurting guys in the gym sparring. She has a pro style that will be suited for TV. Hopefully we'll keep the ball rolling and in the future there could be some big fights out there.
Are there any fighters you’d like to work with?
I'm happy with my stable. I had five Olympians who came to me from Rio, who asked me to be their coach. I politely turned them down because it didn't feel right. For me, I've got to have a connection with my fighter and make sure I've got a good bond with them. That's much more important rather than chasing names. There's got to be respect between us.
You’re still a young trainer – how long do you see yourself in the game?
I will probably be out of boxing by the time I'm 60. I feel training is a young man's sport in that you've got to be active, you've got to be taking punches on the pads and body belt, be able to move around and replicate the fight. And it's physical, you know, it's really physical – especially if you do it the way I do it. There are a lot of trainers who are more like mentors but ultimately they're not really training the person, they're more advising. The older I get, I definitely feel I'm getting a lot more experience and I'm becoming a better coach, but in say, maybe a couple of years, I don't think I'll get that much better as a coach. I just feel I'll get more experienced.
I've been in the game seven or eight years now as a coach. I've seen a guy rupture his achilles five rounds into a box office fight. I spoke to Jimmy Tibbs after the fight and asked if he'd ever been involved in a fight like that. He went, no, not at all. I do feel coaching has a time limit on it, and I feel as you get older you naturally slow down. Come back to me in fifty years time; I'll hopefully be on a beach somewhere!
Follow Shane on Twitter and Instagram.
To donate to the Eddy Gutknecht fund:
Account holder: Julia Gutknecht
IBAN: DE75 2695 1311 0142 0337 03
BIC: NOLADE21GFW
Reason for payment: You never walk alone
