Monaghan event to mark McGuigan title 40th anniversary
A special event is due to take place in Co Monaghan to mark the 40th anniversary of former professional boxer Barry McGuigan becoming a world champion.
Nicknamed 'The Clones Cyclone' McGuigan dethroned Eusebio Pedroza to take the WBA featherweight title in 1985 and become one of Ireland's most iconic boxers in the process.
Almost 27,000 crowd attended the fight at Loftus Road in London on 8 June 1985, and exactly 40 years on it is being commemorated in his native Monaghan.
The match, which saw McGuigan become champion by dropping Pedroza of Panama in round seven and win the title on a unanimous 15-round decision, will be shown at a special screening at the Hillgrove Hotel in Monaghan town.
The win became one of the greatest sporting moments and thousands turned out to welcome McGuigan back home after the fight.
Two days after defeating Pedroza, 75,000 people gathered in Belfast's Royal Avenue to welcome him home and another 30,000 people turned out in his native Clones.
In Dublin, a quarter of a million people lined the streets.
The fight took place against a backdrop of dark and troubled days in Northern Ireland, however McGuigan and his sporting triumph united communities.
He was seen not just as a great boxer, but also as a beacon of peace.
McGuigan will be in attendance for the screening before being interviewed about the events of 40 years previous and what they meant for both the community in Monaghan and Irish boxing as a whole.
McGuigan retired permanently from the ring four years after his world title winning fight.
His record was 32 wins and three losses, with 28 victories by way of knockout.
The now 64-year-old's WBA and Ring world titles were the most glittering honours to his name.
However, he had also accumulated a number of European and British titles along the way in the same weight class.
In 2005, he was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.
More recently, McGuigan featured on the British reality television show 'I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!'
During his time in the jungle, McGuigan opened up about the death of his daughter, actor Danika 'Nika' McGuigan, who died at the age of 33, five weeks after being diagnosed with bowel cancer in 2019.
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