Shane McGuigan says

‘If one of my boxers ever had a brain damage, I’d be out the door,’ says Shane McGuigan.

“Sometimes I feel like I have too much empathy,” Shane McGuigan, who is sitting across the hallway, adds.
We’re in his gym in Leyton, talking just outside the main room where his boxers develop their pugilistic strategies and ready to execute them on fight night.
“I am aware of the long-term consequences of brain damage.” It’s heartbreaking to witness certain boxers suffer brain problems and perhaps die as a result of battles. I’d be out the door if I ever got one of those. “I wouldn’t coach again.”
An automated ceiling light dims sporadically, with McGuigan gently moving his arm to cast additional light on the subject at hand. It is now fighter health.

McGuigan mentions George Groves, the now-retired WBA super-middleweight champion he trained from 2015 to 2018. McGuigan now serves as godfather to one of Groves’ boys, therefore their connection is strictly platonic.

“George had Eddie Gutknecht, and Gutknecht had to have a bleed removed, and he was in a coma,” McGuigan, 34, recounts of the 2016 fight, which his friend won through decision before being sent to a London hospital for emergency brain surgery. “He awoke, but he’s no longer responsive,” McGuigan adds of Gutknecht. “Even being a part of that was horrifying. He approached me after the fight and touched gloves with George, saying ‘Well done,’ before walking around and doing it four times. ‘He’s not right,’ I told my father. Then he fell in the locker room.

“I, too, dislike seeing my soldiers suffer punishment. In 12 years, I’ve only seen one of my fighters receive a concussion. But I’ve had people come into this gym and ask where the exit is because they’re so concussed, and I tell them, ‘The door’s there, man…’ “All I can think about for the rest of the day is, ‘God, I hope they’re okay.'”

When questioned about the best and worst moments of his coaching career, McGuigan – who currently coaches Lawrence Okolie, Daniel Dubois, and Anthony Fowler – confesses that both include Groves.

“I’ve had a number of memorable moments.” Because he had a fractured jaw, George’s victory with [Fedor] Chudinov was incredible. In terms of watching, I think the worst moment for me was George vs. Callum Smith. George didn’t make the count, but I was holding the towel. That is dreadful. George’s shoulder wasn’t 100 percent, but to be stopped in seven rounds is difficult to see…

“Because it’s up to you, it’s your obligation,” McGuigan replies, instantly returning the conversation to the subject of fighter health. “That’s not to argue that any coach who has had a fighter with brain damage is at fault, because it’s really difficult to determine.” And you never know, there may be a gradual bleed from sparring, then they fight… but that’s a burden you’ll have to live with for the rest of your life.

“You have to recognise that this is a sport, and that’s all it is.” The issue with boxing is that if you lose, you may go from receiving £100,000 to receiving £15,000 instead. Because the disparity is so large, combatants will push themselves even further. Even coaches think, ‘I need to make sure they win so I can get money.’ It’s excruciating.”
Boxing has always been a sport, a business whose ferocity is uncontainable by ring ropes.
The cruelty that does exist within them, though, is one of the main reasons why McGuigan’s father, British boxing legend Barry McGuigan, wanted to keep his children away from the sport.

“I and Jake both wanted to do it, but dad kept us away from boxing,” McGuigan adds.

McGuigan eventually took the decision out of his father’s hands. He befriended a German exchange teacher at his school in Somerset when he was 14, after saw him hanging out big bags to beat in the corridor. McGuigan and his trainer ultimately started sparring. “I don’t want to get him in trouble, but I don’t believe we have any type of authorization!” McGuigan was soon able to “blag” his way past the boarding school master and into the gym with his teacher, however Barry quickly discovered this.

“‘Look, if you’re going to do it, I want to be a part of it,’ he remarked. He’d travel 200 miles to pick me up, take me to sparring, and then drive back 200 miles. He desired that us be able to protect ourselves. I suppose dad secretly wished for one of us to box, but he also despised the concept of our brains rattling about. I think I’d suffer if one of my kids boxed.”
McGuigan chose to teach after losing interest in competing himself, first training Carl Frampton before moving on to work with Josh Taylor, David Haye, and his current roster.

McGuigan, 34, is the same age as the majority of the competitors he has trained. Nonetheless, the dynamic has not been tough.

“I think you have a degree of authority if you’re a competent coach and understand the game – and if you can apply it and break it down so fighters can see their faults and what they do well,” he adds. Each time a fighter completes a round of training, an intermittent beep is issued through the double doors to his left.

“It’s not about fancy footwork and holding pads; it’s about saying, ‘These are the skills you have; we have to focus on your finest strengths as well as your disadvantages.'” Then it’s all about organisation and gameplan.”