Shane McGuigan enjoyed one of his stand out moments as a trainer towards the end of last month, when Chris Billam-Smith defeated Lawrence Okolie at the Vitality Stadium to become WBO cruiserweight champion of the world.
Okolie himself had been under McGuigan’s tutelage up until the start of this year, but left to link up with SugarHill Steward, who also trains Tyson Fury.
In a recent interview with Boxing Social, McGuigan referenced the likes of Okolie, and other fighters who have left his stable and achieved “f*** all.”
“We’ve been under some stick and taken some flack, because there’s a narrative that’s been created against us which isn’t true.”
“There are certain fighters that have left and have achieved f*** all, and they’ve got more than enough talent.”
Heavyweight contender Daniel Dubois was the latest fighter to leave McGuigan’s gym, however this is believed to be due to a family dispute with sister Caroline, who is also part of the stable.
In the past, boxers such as Carl Frampton and Josh Taylor are often cited as amongst those whose performances have declined after parting ways with the 35 year old.
McGuigan is widely regarded as having one of the strongest stables in the country, and also boasts top prospect Adam Azim to go along with the more experienced fighters under his guidance.
One of those is Catford’s Ellie Scotney, who will fight for a world title for the first time this Saturday in London, taking on Cherneka Johnson for the IBF super bantamweight strap.