Barry McGuigan column: When I look back on my life, I'm overwhelmed with sadness
Thursday night in Bristol followed fantastic receptions in Monaghan in Ireland and Cannock. I have also contributed to a raft of TV and radio programmes commemorating the occasion.
It is clearly very nostalgic for people as much as it is for me with so many with stories to share. It was a moment in time that saw almost 19 million watching live on telly.
One woman called Valerie asked me to send her dad a note. He is 90. She was 11 when they travelled together on a bus from Bangor in Northern Ireland. When the celebrations were over, they got back on the bus and drove the whole way home. He said it was one of greatest nights of his life.
It was a terrifying time in Northern Ireland and I did something that none believed possible, bringing people together.
Leave the fighting to McGuigan was the slogan of the day. I'm as proud of that as I was of winning the title, giving people a sense of relief and joy in the middle of all that turmoil.
I had supporters from the Falls (Catholics) and the Shankill (Protestants) travelling together at the height of the Troubles. The killings, the deaths, the hatred were all set aside for one amazing night. It showed the kind of support I had, and that is what I remember above all.
Of course I recall the details. The BBC had never done a live outside broadcast of that kind before. That's why it was at QPR. It was only 200 metres to run back to the studio if anything went wrong.
We had a weigh-in on the Tuesday at the Lonsdale shop in the middle of Soho on Beak Street. Pedroza shouted into the camera 'I kill you'.
The whole week was incredible. And fight night was amazing with 14,000 people over from Ireland. A guy sent me a mock-up of the original poster. It featured the likes of Dave McAuley, Simon Eubank, Roy Webb, Gary Muir and David Irvine, now a WBC referee.
I'm still friendly with him. I have not seen Webb or Muir since. Eubank died a couple of years ago and I'm still here and in good health.
Honestly, I have had so much loss in my life, the overwhelming thought when I look back is sadness at losing my dad, my daughter, my brother and sister.
But hopefully I'll still be around to celebrate the 50th, please God.
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