Latest news with #Pedroza
Irish Daily Mirror
2 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Daily Mirror
Barry McGuigan reflects on an 'incredible night' 40 years on from Pedrosa fight
It is 40 years today since Barry McGuigan beat Panama's Eusebio Pedroza to win a world title at Loftus Road on 8 June 1985. Set against the backdrop of the Troubles, the Clones man was a beacon of hope during perilous times, and his world title victory was a moment that defined a boxing era. McGuigan, 64, told BBC Sport: "Those sort of vivid memories are so burned into your brain that you'll never forget. "Winning the world title against Pedroza, having an audience of almost 19 million people. Winning BBC Sports Personality of the Year, the year that Dennis Taylor won the snooker. It was an amazing year for sport, and yet there were lots of tragedies and people dying here because of the Troubles. "Walking to the ring took us 12 minutes to walk 60 yards because the fans were so fanatical. "Then Pedroza came out to some sort of Spanish music, and he took him all of 25, 30 seconds to go from the away dugout dressing room to the ring as opposed to mine. "But it was the fanatical support that we had. You know, we reckon 14,000 people travelled over from Dublin and Belfast and Northern Ireland and Southern Ireland. "It was an incredible night. It just fizzed and the old man got in and sang Danny Boy and everybody sang it back, and then the bell went, and off we went and it was flat out." After many defences of his European featherweight title, McGuigan finally got a shot at the world belt. But he was taking on a boxer who had held the world title for seven years, defending it against 18 different fighters. "I knew I had to pressurise him because technically he was much better than me," McGuigan said. "I had to beat him with pace and pressure, and I just was on him from the start, putting him back, backing him up, making him fight at a pace that was uncomfortable for him. "And that's how you take away their technique advantage, just being on them non-stop, and that was my style. "Then whacking the body when I could, and then the round that changed it all was round seven, bang, down. "Suddenly everything went bonkers. The noise was deafening. Stanley Christodoulou was the South African referee, and he was looking around for me. I ran to the neutral corner immediately because I knew I'd hurt him, and then he counted him and then waved us on ."I came in and I went, I'm going to throw a right hook at him. And I went left side, right side, left side, and I swung, and he just went, shh. I went whizzing past him, missed him by about that much. "But that told me that he wasn't that badly hurt. So I knew at that stage, you know, he was very alert and he was stunned, but he was still very compos mentis. "I tried a right hook and I chased him back, hit him with a couple of left hands, but I never hit him with that right hand again in that round. "Then I had him in real trouble in the 9th round, and then he was out on his feet in the 13th. Legs went, but again, he was a formidable champion. He just stayed in there to the end of the 15 rounds. "But that night I was on such a high, I could have fought 20 rounds. I was just so up for the fight. I was so emotionally fired up for it."
RTÉ News
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- RTÉ News
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 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.
RTÉ News
7 days ago
- Sport
- RTÉ News
On This Week: THAT 'Normal People' Chain raises €70k for charity
On This Week: Irish Moments from History (2nd - 8th June) Welcome to On This Week, where we delve into the standout stories from the years gone by, featuring standout news stories, major sporting events, and pop culture highlights that helped shape Irish life. Here's your dose of Irish nostalgia from 2nd - 8th June. This Week In Irish News McDonagh Tower, a 15-storey block of flats in Ballymun, north Dublin, was reduced to rubble as part of a regeneration project. Thousands of people gathered to witness the tower's demolition, which was brought down by a controlled explosion. Oscar McAuley, the great-great-grandson of Thomas McDonagh, one of the leaders of the 1916 Rising, after whom the tower was named, pressed the detonator. 2024: CSO marked 75 years of counting the Irish economy The Central Statistics Office (CSO) celebrated its 75th anniversary this week. The CSO was established in 1949 to gather, analyse and publish independent statistics and insights about Irish society, its economy, and the environment. In 1951, it carried out its first census, the first Census of Population, which is conducted every five years. This Week In Irish Sports Barry McGuigan captured the WBA and lineal featherweight titles after 15 rounds against Eusebio Pedroza. The fighter, nicknamed the 'Clones Cyclone', was on a 27-fight winning streak before facing Pedroza, who held the title for seven years and made 19 successful defences before this fight. Yet it was McGuigan who had the upper hand, flooring Pedroza in the seventh round before winning unanimously. 2024: Gold for Ireland in 4x400m mixed relay in Europe Team Ireland produced a magnificent performance to win gold at the European Athletics Championships. The relay team included Chris O'Donnell, Rhasidat Adeleke, Thomas Barr & Sharlene Mawdsley who finished in a time of 3:09:92, a championship record. The four join Sonia O'Sullivan as the only gold medallists for Ireland in the 90-year history of the European Championships. This Week In Irish Entertainment Gay Byrne returned to the Late Late Show set to mark the 50th anniversary of the talk show. After receiving a standing ovation upon his arrival, Byrne spoke about how people hated it when the show started, but it quickly became popular, and the rest is history. The anniversary also included Brendan Balfe, who was in the audience for the very first Late Late Show, who recalled his memories of the first show. 2020: Paul Mescal raises €70,000 raffling THAT chain for charity Paul Mescal raised over €70,000 for suicide prevention charity Pieta by raffling off the iconic chain worn by his Normal People character Connell. The chain became a hit with fans to the point that it had its own Instagram account with over 180,000 followers. Mescal said he particularly wanted to help Pieta because "suicide and depression are themes directly linked to Normal People." This Week In Irish Culture 2003: St Anthony relics tour Ireland The relics of the Franciscan monk Saint Anthony of Padua, one of the Catholic Church's most popular saints, came to Ireland for a nine-day tour. Saint Anthony is famous for his power to return lost possessions, and his tour began at Fairview in Dublin. At one point, the poles used to carry the reliquary were lost in Dublin Airport, but Franciscan Conventual friar Father Xavier Goulet, who helped organise the tour, knew who to turn to. They found them about an hour before the official reception of the relics in Fairview started. 2023: Largest collection of Cumann na mBan memorabilia goes on display One of the largest and most comprehensive collections of Cumann na mBan memorabilia has gone on display at the Cork Public Museum after its surprise discovery in a dusty attic. The archive, which contains over 5,000 items, including photographs, letters, pamphlets, and newspaper clippings, gave insight into the role of the women's Republican paramilitary organisation during tumultuous times in the country's history, especially during the Civil War. The collection would have been lost forever if a house owner had not contacted the museum and asked them to assess the material before selling the property in 2007. What was Number 1 in Ireland This Week? 1979: 'Sunday Girl' by Blondie Sunday Girl was written by Blondie's guitarist Chris Stein and was inspired by Debbie Harry's cat having run away. 1983: 'Every Breath You Take' by The Police The Police's signature song was recognised by BMI in the US as the most played song in radio history. 1998: 'C'est La Vie' by B*Witched The iconic song from B*Witched made them the youngest girl group ever to have a UK number one. Irish Celebrities Celebrating Birthdays This Week Liam Cunningham (64) Actor best known for roles in Game of Thrones, The Wind That Shakes The Barley, and Hunger. Donal Skehan (39) Television presenter, chef and food writer. Helen McEntee (39) Minister for Education and Youth, and Deputy Leader of Fine Gael. Other Irish Trivia From This Week 2019: The Irish pigeon who played a vital role in D-Day An Irish pigeon played a small but vital part in bringing the news of the Normandy landings on D-Day 75 years ago. Paddy the Pigeon was one of 32 pigeons released from Normandy to bring back the news of D-Day to England. He travelled 368 km (230 miles) in four hours and 50 minutes. For this feat, Paddy was awarded the Dickin Medal, which has been described as the animal equivalent of Britain's Victoria Cross, and is the only Irish animal to have been so decorated. Looking Ahead
