Inside Barry McGuigan’s feud with boxing superstar ex-pal Carl Frampton – and incredible TV clash that could have been

BARRY McGUIGAN has had plenty of battles in the ring, in his personal life and now in the jungle.

But there was even a bitter legal spat with his former protegee that ended up in court.

And the pair nearly had an awkward reunion on the ITV screens this week.

Hall of Famer McGuigan, 63, won the WBA featherweight world crown in 1985 and retired with an impressive 32-3 record.

After hanging up his gloves, the Irishman stayed in boxing and launched his own promotion company.

And one of the key men in his stables was Northern Irish star Carl Frampton.

Frampton, 37, started working with McGuigan in 2009 and secured world titles in both the super-bantamweight and featherweight divisions while fighting under the Cyclone Promotions flag and being trained by Barry’s son Shane.

But things took a shock twist in 2017.

Their eight-year relationship ended in acrimonious fashion following the cancellation of Frampton’s fight with Andres Gutierrez.

Not only did the Jackal quit from the McGuigans but he also defected to controversial Irish gangster Daniel Kinahan’s MTK Global promotions.

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Kinahan is being hunted by the FBI over role as head of a global organised crime gang worth an estimated $1billion (£790million) – there are no suggestions Frampton was involved in crime.

And Frampton’s exit also sparked a mass exodus of boxers from Cyclone Promotions, “effectively destroying the business”.

Then in 2020, the spat turned into a courtroom showdown.

Frampton sued Cyclone Promotions for £6m in alleged withheld earnings from fights in Northern Ireland, England and the United States.

He even claimed the McGuigans used some of the money he was owed for expenses outside of boxing – including holidays.

Frampton, who described mentor and manager McGuigan as his “hero”, said: “It just seemed at times they were enjoying life on my purse.

“The biggest one was in 2016 after a fight. My family and I had a bit of a holiday, and the McGuigans did too.

“The expenses were coming out of the purse after the fight was over.

“I literally paid for a lot of what went on in their holiday.

“It was hard when it broke down, to be honest, but I mean, it was probably a long time coming.

“I was hoping that the things that people were saying about Barry were all wrong. He was a hero of mine growing up.

“I wanted this to get fixed. A court process was the last thing I wanted, but there was no other option.”

McGuigan hit back, though, and launched a countersuit claiming Frampton had been in breach of his contract when he walked out on Cyclone Promotions, for whom he was a director.

Both men denied any wrongdoing.

However, it sparked a multi-million-pound legal case which was surprisingly settled in an out-of-court confidential agreement in November 2020.

McGuigan said: “Just a disappointment. Pretty deep disappointment. I took him into my home, made him part of my family.

“I didn’t take a penny off him for over two years [until] he won the Commonwealth title.

“Very disappointing that he went off to join Daniel Kinahan. That’s it.

“He [Frampton] can say what he wants but he knows he could not have achieved anything without me or my family and the work that we put into him.

“I don’t want to get into a slagging match with him. I’m past all that nonsense.

Shane will end up in the International Boxing Hall of Fame, just like me. It sounds very bumptious but I’m not in the International Boxing Hall of Fame for no reason.

“I was really good at what I did. We are very good people. We’re very decent people.”

Frampton – who went on to sign for promoter Frank Warren – retired in 2021 and announced his relationship with McGuigan is “dead” and the bad memories have “tarred everything that’s gone on”.

He released his autobiography in 2023 and took further jabs at his former manager.

The Belfast battler added: “It was bliss at the start and there was genuine love and friendship. Barry went as far as calling me the fourth son at times. He was a man that I looked up to so much.

“I understand that Barry is a hero to many people. He was a hero to me.

“But if you read this book, and still think he is a hero, you need to give your head a wobble.

“It was pretty sour in the end. It was a shame but this is what happens in boxing.

“I think the relationship’s dead, it will always be dead.

“But for a while, I had a lot of bitterness about them and thought about them a lot and I had a lot of anger, but I don’t have that anymore. I kind of pity them now.

“I’ve calmed down and have more important things to worry about now.

“Obviously I can’t say a lot, but I can say I’m extremely happy with the settlement.”

But despite their public animosity, Frampton and McGuigan could have spent three weeks camping together in Australia after Tommy Fury opted out of I’m A Celebrity.

In a Kevin Keegan-style explanation, Frampton revealed: “I swear to God I was nearly in it.

“When Tommy Fury pulled out there was me and two others and the fella from McFly got it instead of me.

“So obviously I think there must have been a debate that would have put me and McGuigan in at the same time.

“By the way I would have loved to have been in with him, I would have absolutely loved it, but it wasn’t to be.”