Barry McGuigan Quotes & Sayings

If somebody had told me in the 1980s that Gerry Adams would shake hands with Ian Paisley or Peter Robinson I would have said put that man in a white suit and lock him up in a padded cell. — Barry McGuigan

I've spent my life navigating through sensitive issues. Not wanting to upset people. — Barry McGuigan

250,000 people turned up in Dublin to cheer me on an open-topped bus along O'Connell St after my world title winning fight in 1985. I'll never forget the sea of smiling faces that greeted me that day. — Barry McGuigan

The trouble with boxing is that too often it ends in sadness. — Barry McGuigan

There is nothing like wealth for dulling desire. — Barry McGuigan

What do you want me to do, rob a bank? — Barry McGuigan

I'd had 35 professional fights and mentally I was tired of it. I'd sort ot fallen out of love with the sport. — Barry McGuigan

What I would say about Barney Eastwood is that when our relationship worked, it worked extremely well. He had a lot of strengths as a promoter and a manager. — Barry McGuigan

Every fighter has a story that could break your heart. We lose, we get hurt and everything comes apart. That's when it's so difficult to stay on the straight and narrow. — Barry McGuigan

I train very hard, either rowing on the cross trainer or running. Not only do you feel tired afterwards but it relaxes you, it completely clears the head. But to sort things out I also like to walk. — Barry McGuigan

I don't want to sound obnoxious, but I like to think I brought it another step. I was able to bring people who were casually interested in boxing together. — Barry McGuigan

While my father sang, Pedroza stared at me. By that time my eye pupils were staring at him, too, like a terrier that's got hold of a fox. — Barry McGuigan

Barney was interested in bringing professional boxing back to Northern Ireland in a big way. — Barry McGuigan

It is not the size of the dog in the fight that counts, but the size of the fight in the dog. — Barry McGuigan

Boxing is changing and training methods are slowly being dragged into the 21st century. — Barry McGuigan

Work hard, think fast and you'll last. — Barry McGuigan

I get people to this day - I won my title 25 years ago - saying how wonderful a time they had during that dark period in our history when they came to watch me fight. — Barry McGuigan

A pit bull is like a fighter. Every so often it needs to taste blood. — Barry McGuigan

I wanted to bring people together, and most importantly not feel threatened when they came to watch me box. — Barry McGuigan

Boxing traditionally was received very well and accepted on both sides. — Barry McGuigan