Barry McGuigan turned world champion and fought for peace with Man Utd icon at ringside

The greatest night of Barry McGuigan’s career had an audience not even I’m a Celebrity can get near.

In the unusual setting of QPR’s Loftus Road in London, the Monaghan man defeated Eusebio Pedroza to become WBA featherweight champion on a June night in 1985. Around 25,000 fans were there in the stadium but 20 million viewers tuned in on the BBC to watch McGuigan dethrone one of the great champions of the era.

The Clones Cyclone was not just a revered fighter, but a man who had brought communities together in Ireland. Back in 1985, Northern Ireland was more in the news for hatred and violence.

Bombs and bullets rained down as Republicans and Unionists fought ugly battles on the streets. McGuigan was seen as a unifying figure. ‘Leave the fighting to McGuigan’ would be a well-worn quote of the time.

Born just over the border in the Republic of Ireland, McGuigan fought for both sides inside the ring and tried to bring everyone together outside of it.

As a catholic, he married a protestant. McGuigan broke down opponents and tried to break down barriers. He wore the UN emblem for peace on his shorts rather than a tricolour.

But this night was all about his crowning glory in the ring. The moment his talent deserved, ending Pedroza’s reign in his 20th defence of the title.

Manchester United icon George Best, fellow Red Devils legend Norman Whiteside, rugby great Willie John McBride and former Olympic champion Mary Peters were just some of the stars ringside in west London.

McGuigan’s dad, Pat, sang Danny Boy in the ring beforehand. It was the tune McGuigan called for instead of a national anthem which would divide the crowds.

Pedroza was taller than your average featherweight and was an awkward customer. The Panama boxer had the better of the early rounds. But the crowd would help turn the tide with more than half known to be Irish either having travelled over or those who were living in England.

McGuigan, who was 24 at the time, improved as the rounds went on and put Pedroza down in the seventh. It was the moment the fight turned. He would eventually win a unanimous points decision after 15 exciting rounds.

“I knew technically he was far superior to me, and that the only way to beat him was to beat him for pace,” McGuigan said later on.
“If you stood off him he would just box your ears off all night long.”

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McGuigan was a British and European champion already, having boxed at the Olympics as an amateur and won Commonwealth Games gold. But this was the night he is remembered for in the ring.

That year McGuigan won the BBC Sports Personality of the Year. He remains the only person from outside of the United Kingdom to have won it.

He defended the title twice before an infamous defeat by Steve Cruz under the searing sun outdoors in Las Vegas just over a year later. There were 25,000 inside Loftus Road that night in 1985. If you did a census then you might find that number significantly higher for people who claim to have been there.

But 20 million people sat in their homes across the UK to watch an Irishman achieve greatness in the ring. McGuigan fought for glory and peace.