Barry McGuigan has lived quite the life during his time in the public eye.
The former boxing champ, who is currently competing on ITV’s stalwart reality show I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! in Australia. Despite only being in the show’s first week, Barry has already made a lasting impression on viewers thanks to his emotional honesty and no-nonsense approach to drama.
But behind the scenes, Barry’s life has been filled with ups and downs, particularly as a result of his time in the ring. The star has seen a number of setbacks in his life, from tragic family loss to near-fatal blowouts, Barry has seen it all in his life.
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So, as Barry continues to live it up in the Australian jungle, Daily Star looks at Barry’s devastatingly dark past.
Fatal fight
(Image: Getty Images)
Barry’s boxing career first took off in the 1970s as he climbed the ranks to eventually earn a spot on the Olympic team for Ireland at the 1980 Games in Moscow. But after two years, Barry left the world of amateur boxing behind to become a professional featherweight fighter.
In 1982, Barry was on a winning streak, winning seven of the last eight fights; however, one of these nearly cost Barry his entire career. On June 14, 1982, Barry took on Young Ali – decisively beating him after just six rounds.
However, following the match, Ali would eventually fall into a coma and tragically die just two days later. Barry was left distraught by the death and considered retiring as a boxer following Young Ali’s death, but eventually was convinced to continue his illustrious career.
Abduction fears
(Image: Popperfoto via Getty Images)
At the height of his career, security around Barry was higher than ever, due to his impressive success in the ring. However, it was later revealed that the star faced a kidnap threat in the mid 1980s as he continued to tear down his opponents.
Speaking about the incident, Barry recalled: “I was told there was a plot to kidnap me. Security forces on both sides of the border were keeping an eye on me.”
The sportsman explained that the threat came at the time of racehorse Shergar’s mysterious disappearance, and promoters were unwilling to let Barry go missing. He also was given his own weapons in order to defend himself, amid the ongoing violence in Ireland due to The Troubles.
“It came at a time when people were disappearing and not long after the kidnapping of the racehorse Shergar,” he admitted. “So I was issued with a gun and the police taught me how to shoot it.”
Family loss
(Image: Getty Images)
Outside of the ring, Barry’s family have been shown to be great fighters themselves, but their opponent was not a person, but cancer. Barry’s daughter Danika had fought cancer twice in her life, sadly succumbing to the disease in 2019.
Danika was first diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia when she was aged just 11 years old back in 1997. After two years of intense chemotherapy, the cancer was cured, and set her off on her new career as a much-loved actress.
However, in June of 2019, cancer would strike again, after Danika was told she had stage four bowel cancer, tragically passing away just five weeks after the diagnosis. Speaking to Belfast Live in 2021, two years after Danika’s death, Barry said he will “never recover” from her loss, but will try to carry on in her memory.
I’m A Celebrity airs every day at 9pm on ITV1 and ITVX.
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
