Shane McGuigan: ‘Dad can’t switch off, he’s a zero-to-100, all or nothing person. it was claustrophobic’

Shane McGuigan hesitated before going into the family business, but the weight of expectation hit him hard. Now a father himself, he recounts seeing his sister struggle with childhood leukaemia, tensions with Barry over his training and finding his feet as a coach

“I used to box at 10st 12lbs, and I’m like, 14st 4lbs now, maybe 14st 5lbs. I was a bag of bones. I had to train two, three times a day to keep my weight down. My dad was like, ‘What’s the point of eating chocolate? You’ll just have to train again. Why would you do it?’" Shane McGuigan. Photo: Lee Malone

Regina Lavelle

Shane McGuigan is a hard man to pin down. We’re first scheduled to chat in midsummer of last year; I’m to head to his gym in East London. On that morning, the interview is called off — he has training — and they could possibly squeeze in a Zoom. We wait.