The name McGuigan is steeped in boxing history. First came Barry McGuigan who managed to unite an Ireland embroiled in unrest on his road to becoming featherweight champion of the world and now his son Shane continues to do the family name proud with a training career which is already breeding success.
At the age of 33, Shane McGuigan is forging a career many trainers at a similar age would crave. Once the trainer of former two-weight world champion Carl Frampton and super-lightweight king Josh Taylor, and now WBO cruiserweight champion Lawrence Okolie, McGuigan is quickly cementing himself as one of the world’s best.
One of those looking to thrive under his stewardship is British, Commonwealth and European cruiserweight champion Chris Billam-Smith (13-1, 10 KOs) who returns to the ring on Saturday night in Sheffield against Dylan Bregeon (11-1, 3 KOs).
Billam-Smith has been with McGuigan since turning pro in September 2017, but in an exclusive interview with DAZN, the 31-year-old revealed his first encounter with his current trainer came by chance.
“A guy who used to work for Shane messaged me on FB randomly asking me to spar up in London, this going to back to 2015 maybe. I said, ‘yeah no worries, I’ll come up and spar’ and I hadn’t got a clue who I was sparring,” Billam-Smith told DAZN.
“I said what time and where, he sent the address and said I’d be doing six rounds with George Groves. No one knew at this point he’d be training with Shane; it was his first spar.
“George was my favourite fighter, and it was a great experience for me. I went and sparred and sparred well. They kept inviting me back for a couple of spars with George, a couple of spars with David Haye as well when he was with Shane.
“When I decided to turn pro I asked Shane if he would take me on. I thought I’d start at the top and work my way down the list of GB trainers. Thankfully Shane took me on, and we’ve got a really good friendship and working relationship which is a nice balance.”
For Billam-Smith, the impact McGuigan had on his boxing ability was instant and saw major improvements in his punching ability.
“I had one stoppage as an amateur in 30 wins and now I’ve got 10 in 13 wins as a pro so he’s [Shane McGuigan] definitely developed my punch power,” Billam-Smith explained.
“He’s getting me to punch correctly, teaching me all the things to punch harder and that’s been the biggest difference since I joined Shane, so I think it’s really worked for me.
“Shane develops everyone, anyone who comes to him seems to improve.”
Whenever McGuigan or one of his fighter’s posts on social media the goings on inside his gym, there is always a smile across everyone’s faces. Quite often boxing gyms can be intense environments, but inside the McGuigan gym it’s all about being humble and leaving your ego at the door, and this mentality has resulted in success across all levels of the professional game.
“Shane doesn’t allow any egos in the gym; nobody can come in and control their own training. Shane controls the training, so everyone looks to him for their training and planning and keeps them on a level,” Billam-Smith said when discussing the energy inside the McGuigan camp.
“Everyone’s got their strengths and weaknesses in the gym and Shane knows it’s important to build on your strengths and work on your weaknesses, he does that really well on an emotional level. He knows how to deal with his fighters emotionally as well as physically.
“It’s a real good mix in the gym, it comes down to Shane and his dad, no one in the gym will be as big as a legend as Barry. Barry’s a hall of famer and no one’s achieved that yet so it keeps everyone grounded.”
Billam-Smith isn’t the only cruiserweight in McGuigan’s gym however, the 33-year-old trainer also has WBO cruiserweight champion Lawrence Okolie under his wing and he's someone who ‘The Gentleman’ always looks to for inspiration.
“You can’t ask for a better role model in the gym than a world champion at the weight,
“I’ve had the pleasure of sparring with him over the years and learning off him all the time.
“The whole time I’ve been with the gym there’s been a world champion or someone training for a world title fight, it’s the standard the gym holds striving for world titles.”
Billam-Smith is also hopeful he can play a part in Okolie’s quest to become the undisputed champion at cruiserweight with a potential fight against IBF champion Mairis Briedis on the horizon.
“We’ve done hundreds of rounds together in the gym, it’s great for both us. We help each other out and we get on really well.
“Hopefully he will fight Briedis next, and I am sure I’ll doing plenty around that camp as well, I’ve got a similar styler to Briedis. I’m a bit shorter than him, I’ll try and let my hands go, work in close.”
For Billam-Smith, he has found the perfect fit in the form of Shane McGuigan and the humble atmosphere around the gym will keep the AFC Bournemouth fan grounded as he prepares to make numerous defences his British, Commonwealth and European titles.
If Okolie’s cruiserweight career is anything to go by and the relationship between Billam-Smith and McGuigan goes from strength to strength, expect ‘The Gentleman’ to headline the Vitality Stadium in a world title fight in the not so distant future.
Billam-Smith makes the first defence of his European cruiserweight title against Dylan Bregeon in Sheffield on November 13th, a fight which can be watched exclusively on DAZN (Except in Australia and New Zealand).