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James “Buddy” McGirt: A Thinking Man’s Fighter in 2019 Hall of Fame Class

During the late 80s and early 90s whenever the name Buddy McGirt was mentioned it conjured up images of East Coast boxing.
“I’m all East Coast baby,” says McGirt whose given name is James McGirt Jr.
The two division world champion McGirt will be officially inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame on Saturday June 8, at Canastota, New York. He will be inducted along with Donald Curry, Julian Jackson, Tony DeMarco, Lee Samuels, Teddy Atlas, Don Elbaum, and Guy Jutras.
“I got emotional when I got the call,” McGirt (pictured with Sergey Kovalev) said upon learning of his selection.
Today, McGirt, 55, remains visible in the boxing scene as a trainer and can be seen bending over advising his younger charges like Kovalev the light heavyweight champion from Russia. For the past decade McGirt moved his home base to Southern California and has been sharing his knowledge of boxing to the young boxing guns of today.
But, during his fighting era, McGirt was quite a fighter.
Based out of Brentwood, New York the fighter known as Buddy burst on the pro boxing scene back in 1982 and in his professional debut fought against an opponent with two wins and no losses. McGirt fought to a draw. Over the years he showed a proficiency for being a very technically sound fighter with a stubbornness for not yielding to bigger and seemingly stronger competition. He accrued 80 professional engagements.
Winter Weather
Those freezing East Coast winters drove the native New Yorker to the boxing gym. Though he dabbled with football, it was boxing that kept him inside.
“Standing in the cold getting tackled was not my cup of tea,” said McGirt a Long Island resident back in the late 1970s. “When I first started boxing I started one game in football and it was freezing. The field was hard and cold and I said to myself I can be in a hot boxing gym instead of freezing my butt off. Once I started boxing that was it.”
During his early years as a professional, the established young stars were Sugar Ray Leonard, Marvin Hagler, and the Spinks brothers Leon and Michael. In one period Michael Spinks prepared at his gym under the guidance of the late great Eddie Futch.
“In 83 (Spinks) was training for a fight and I watched him train every day religiously. Loved his work ethic and admired the way he trained. Whatever Eddie Futch asked him to do he did it. He was knocking out guys with 20 ounce gloves,” said McGirt of Michael Spinks. “He was smart, he could fight. I really think he don’t get the credit. Look at his record and look at who he beat. He got one loss to a young prime Mike Tyson then he retired. He drew and beat every heavyweight out there in his era.”
Fighting smart was a trademark of McGirt too.
Though not blessed with the fastest hands or biggest punch, McGirt had plenty of weaponry and competed against legendary opponents that possessed some of those tremendous assets like Howard Davis, Pernell Whitaker, Simon Brown, Meldrick Taylor, Saoul Mamby, Frankie Warren and Tony Baltazar.
In 1988 he met undefeated Frankie Warren for the vacant IBF super lightweight world title in Corpus Christi, Texas and won by knockout in the 12th round of a scheduled 15-round fight. It was payback for McGirt who lost his first pro fight to Warren a couple of years earlier.
McGirt made his first title defense against the ridiculously fast Howard Davis Jr. who many contend had the fastest hands of any prizefighter in the game. Most picked Davis to defeat McGirt but he had sparred with him years earlier and knew what to expect. He devised a game plan when they met in July 1988.
“Howard Davis, I sparred him as a kid. I don’t think there was anybody as fast as him. He was fast as lightning,” said McGirt whose plan to defend against superior speed proved foolproof. “You have to offset their rhythm. Sometimes you punch when they punch or when they get ready and you get out of the way, don’t try to stand there because they are too fast.”
Years later, he moved up to the welterweight division and fought the powerful Simon Brown for the WBC world title. The power punching Brown had been a long time IBF belt holder and then won the WBC version by knocking out Maurice Blocker in 1991.
“He was confident, the best welter in the division, he was knocking everybody out,” said McGirt of Brown. “He just knocked out his best friend Maurice Blocker. What’s he going to do to me? I had a game plan and stuck to it.”
Though McGirt couldn’t match the firepower of Brown he was not without his own mental weaponry and defeated him by nullifying his power to win by unanimous decision in Las Vegas in November 1991.
That was McGirt being McGirt.
“Boxing is a thinking man’s game,” said McGirt.
Now, the thinking man’s fighter has been chosen to enter International Boxing’s Hall of Fame.
“I just believed in fighting the best,” McGirt says adding that he wished he could have fought Julio Cesar Chavez and Sugar Ray Leonard. “Sugar Ray was in an era a little before me.”
But it’s his time to enter the Hall of Fame and join the others.
“Winning my championships were my two greatest moments, but now, getting into the Hall of Fame, you can’t get no higher,” said McGirt proudly. “Boxing fans are the best.”
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Argentina’s Fernando Martinez Wins His Rematch with Kazuto Ioka

In an excellent fight climaxed by a furious 12th round, Argentina’s Fernando Daniel Martinez came off the deck to win his rematch with Kazuto Ioka and retain his piece of the world 115-pound title. The match was staged at Ioka’s familiar stomping grounds, the Ota-City General Gymnasium in Tokyo.
In their first meeting on July 7 of last year in Tokyo, Martinez was returned the winner on scores of 117-111, 116-112, and a bizarre 120-108. The rematch was slated for late December, but Martinez took ill a few hours before the weigh-in and the bout was postponed.
The 33-year-old Martinez, who came in sporting a 17-0 (9) record, was a 7-2 favorite to win the sequel, but there were plenty of reasons to favor Ioka, 36, aside from his home field advantage. The first Japanese male fighter to win world titles in four weight classes, Ioka was 3-0 in rematches and his long-time trainer Ismael Salas was on a nice roll. Salas was 2-0 last weekend in Times Square, having handled upset-maker Rolly Romero and Reito Tsutsumi who was making his pro debut.
But the fourth time was not a charm for Ioka (31-4-1) who seemingly pulled the fight out of the fire in round 10 when he pitched the Argentine to the canvas with a pair of left hooks, but then wasn’t able to capitalize on the momentum swing.
Martinez set a fast pace and had Ioka fighting off his back foot for much of the fight. Beginning in round seven, Martinez looked fatigued, but the Argentine was conserving his energy for the championship rounds. In the end, he won the bout on all three cards: 114-113, 116-112, 117-110.
Up next for Fernando Martinez may be a date with fellow unbeaten Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez, the lineal champion at 115. San Antonio’s Rodriguez is a huge favorite to keep his title when he defends against South Africa’s obscure Phumelela Cafu on July 19 in Frisco, Texas.
As for Ioka, had he won today’s rematch, that may have gotten him over the hump in so far as making it into the International Boxing Hall of Fame. True, winning titles in four weight classes is no great shakes when the bookends are only 10 pounds apart, but Ioka is still a worthy candidate.
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Emanuel Navarrete Survives a Bloody Battle with Charly Suarez in San Diego

In a torrid battle Mexico’s Emanuel “Vaquero” Navarrete and his staccato attack staved off the herky-jerky non-stop assaults of Philippine’s Charly Suarez to win by technical decision and retain the WBO super feather world title on Saturday.
What do they feed these guys?
Navarrete (40-2-1, 32 KOs) and his elongated arms managed to connect enough to compensate against the surprising Suarez (18-1, 10 KOs) who wowed the crowd at Pechanga Arena in San Diego.
An accidental clash of heads opened a cut on the side of Navarrete’s left eye and forced a stoppage midway through the fight.
From the opening round Navarrete used his windmill style of attack with punches from different angles that caught Suarez multiple times early. It did not matter. Suarez fired back with impunity and was just as hungry to punch it out with the Mexican fighter.
It was savage.
Every time Navarrete connected solidly, he seemed to pause and check out the damage. Bad idea. Suarez would immediately counter with bombs of his own and surprise the champion with his resilience and tenacity.
Wherever they found Suarez they should look for more, because the Filipino fighter from Manila was ferocious and never out of his depth.
Around the sixth round the Mexican fighter seemed a little drained and puzzled at the tireless attacks coming from Suarez. During an exchange of blows a cut opened up on Navarrete and it was ruled an accidental clash of heads by the referee. Blood streamed down the side of Navarrete’s face and it was cleared by the ringside physician.
But at the opening of the eighth round, the fight was stopped and the ringside physician ruled the cut was too bad to continue. The California State Athletic Commission looked at tape of the round when the cut opened to decipher if it was an accidental butt or a punch that caused the cut. It was unclear so the referee’s call of accidental clash of heads stood as the final ruling.
Score cards from the judges saw Navarrete the winner by scores of 78-75, 77-76 twice. He retains the WBO title.
Interim IBF Lightweight Title
The sharp-shooting Raymond “Danger” Muratalla (23-0, 17 KOs) maneuvered past Russia’s Zaur Abdullaev (20-2, 12 KOs) by unanimous decision to win the interim IBF lightweight title after 12 rounds.
Both fighters were strategic in their approach with Muratalla switching from orthodox to southpaw at various times of the fight. Neither fighter was ever able to dominant any round.
Defense proved the difference between the two lightweights. Muratalla was able to slip more blows than Abdullaev and that proved the difference. The fighter from Fontana, California was able to pierce Abdullaev’s guard more often than not, especially with counter punches.
Abdullaev was never out of the fight. The Russian fighter was able to change tactics and counter the counters midway through the fight. It proved effective especially to the body. But it was not enough to offset Muratalla’s accuracy.
There were no knockdowns and after 12 rounds the judges scored it 118-110, 119-109 twice for Muratalla who now becomes the mandatory for the IBF lightweight title should Vasyl Lomachenko return to defend it.
Muratalla was brief.
“He was a tough fighter,” said Muratalla. “My defense is something I work on a lot.”
Perla Wins
Super flyweight Perla Bazaldua (2-0) eased past Mona Ward (0-2) with a polished display of fighting at length and inside.
Combination punching and defense allowed Bazaldua to punch in-between Ward’s attacks and force the St. Louis fighter to clinch repeatedly. But Ward hung in there despite taking a lot of blows. After four rounds the Los Angeles-based Bazaldua was scored the winner 40-36 on all three cards. Bazaldua signed a long term contract with Top Rank in March.
Photo credit: Mikey Williams / Top Rank
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Late Bloomer Anthony Cacace TKOs Hometown Favorite Leigh Wood in Nottingham

Frank Warren’s Queensberry Promotions was at Motorpoint Arena in Nottingham, England, tonight with a card featuring hometown favorite Leigh Wood against Ireland’s Anthony “Apache” Cacace.
Wood, a former two-time WBA featherweight champion, known for dramatic comebacks in bouts he was losing, may have reached the end of the road at age 36. He had his moments tonight, rocking Cacace on several occasions and winning the eighth round, but he paid the price, returning to his corner after round eight with swelling around both of his eyes.
In the ninth, Cacace, an 11/5 favorite, hurt Wood twice with left hands, the second of which knocked Wood into the ropes, dictating a standing 8-count by referee John Latham. When the bout resumed, Cacace went for the kill and battered Wood around the ring, forcing Wood’s trainer Ben Davison to throw in the towel. The official time was 2:15 of round nine.
Akin to Wood, Northern Ireland’s Cacace (24-1, 9 KOs) is also 36 years old and known as a late bloomer. This was his ninth straight win going back to 2017 (he missed all of 2018 and 2020). He formerly held the IBF 130-pound world title, a diadem he won with a stoppage of then-undefeated and heavily favored Joe Cordina, but that belt wasn’t at stake tonight as Cacace abandoned it rather than fulfill his less-lucrative mandatory. Wood falls to 28-4.
Semi-Wind-Up
Nottingham light heavyweight Ezra Taylor, fighting in his hometown for the first time since pro debut, delighted his fan base with a comprehensive 10-round decision over previously undefeated Troy Jones. Taylor, who improved to 12-0 (9) won by scores of 100-90, 99-91, and 98-92.
This was Taylor’s first fight with new trainer Malik Scott, best known for his work with Deontay Wilder. The victory may have earned him a match with Commonwealth title-holder Lewis Edmondson. Jones was 12-0 heading in.
Other Bouts of Note
In his first fight as a featherweight, Liam Davies rebounded from his first defeat with a 12-round unanimous decision over Northern Ireland’s previously undefeated Kurt Walker. Davies, who improved to 17-1 (8), staved off a late rally to prevail on scores of 115-113, 116-112, and 117-111. It was the first pro loss for the 30-year-old Walker (12-1), a Tokyo Olympian.
In a mild upset, Owen Cooper, a saucy Worcestershire man, won a 10-round decision over former Josh Taylor stablemate Chris Kongo. The referee’s scorecard read 96-94.
Cooper improved to 11-1 (4). It was the third loss in 20 starts for Kongo.
A non-televised 8-rounder featured junior welterweight Sam Noakes in a stay-busy fight. A roofer by trade and the brother of British welterweight title-holder Sean Noakes, Sam improved to 17-0 (15 KOs) with a third-round stoppage of overmatched Czech import Patrik Balez (13-5-1).
Photo credit: Leigh Dawney / Queensberry
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