Irish boxing legend Barry McGuigan has only been in the I’m A Celebrity jungle for a matter of days but has already made a big impression on viewers after tearfully opening up about his daughter’s tragic death.
The 63-year-old, who is starring in the latest series of the ITV show alongside the likes of Coleen Rooney and McFly star Danny Jones, arrived as an unknown to some viewers but has quickly emerged as a fan favourite. He tugged on the heartstrings on Monday night as he broke down crying while discussing losing his daughter Danika to cancer, with his fellow campmates comforting him.
Danika passed away five years ago at the age of just 33, one month after being diagnosed with cancer. The only daughter of McGuigan and his wife Sandra, who also share three sons together, she had been diagnosed with acute lymphoid leukaemia when she was just 11 years old, undergoing two years of treatment.
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While she recovered from her illness and went on to become an actress – starring in Jim Sheridan’s The Secret Scripture alongside Hollywood stars Rooney Mara and Jack Reynor – ‘Nika’ died in July 2019, leaving her family devastated. McGuigan himself has admitted he will “never recover from it” and it still makes him “very upset” to think about.
The Irishman is now out to make his family proud in the jungle, having made a name for himself in the boxing ring decades ago. Nicknamed the ‘Clones Cyclone’, McGuigan previously held the British and European featherweight titles and is a former winner of BBC Sports Personality of the Year as well as a member of the International Boxing Hall of Fame.
Since retiring in 1989, he has worked as a boxing manager and promoter, as well as a pundit for the likes of Sky Sports. He is also no stranger to reality TV, winning the third series of Hell’s Kitchen back in 2007.
His boxing career ended before the mega-money bouts of today but his success in the ring saw him bank a decent amount of money. However, while his net worth today is rumoured to be around £5 million by unofficial sources, an exact figure has not been disclosed.
McGuigan has also faced financial and legal troubles in recent years, with two companies linked to him being liquidated earlier this year. The boxer, as well as his wife and three sons, ran promotional company Cyclone Promotions Ltd, while the couple and their son Shane, a boxing trainer, ran McGuigans Gym Ltd.
However, both went into liquidation in January. In a statement to the Belfast Telegraph, Thomas O’Keefe of insolvency practitioners Antony Batty & Company LLP said: “I can confirm that McGuigan’s Gym Ltd and Cyclone Promotions Ltd were placed into Creditors’ Voluntary Liquidation today and Hugh Francis Jesseman of Antony Batty & Company LLP was appointed as liquidator.”
That came after McGuigan was involved in a multi-million pound legal battle with world champion boxer Carl Frampton, who he managed, back in 2020.
The two Irish fighters were previously close but their relationship broke down, with Frampton suing his former manager for alleged withheld earnings from big fights, claiming up to £6m against Cyclone Promotions. In a counter-suit, McGuigan claimed Frampton had breached his contract by quitting the organisation in 2017.
The case – in which both men denied any wrongdoing – was heard at the High Court in Belfast, before a settlement was reached outside of court The court heard how the relationship between the two men had turned “toxic”, with McGuigan’s son Shane accused of “talking negatively” about Frampton.
“It was quite toxic,” Paul Johnston, a manager at a boxing club where Frampton had trained, told the court. “The camp wasn’t happy. There was an air of grievance or unhappiness with Carl. He wasn’t a happy fighter.”
“Shane started talking negatively. He said that he was finished,” Mr Johnston added. “I was very concerned. This came from Carl’s trainer and someone who was going to be in his corner the following night.”
However, Mr Johnston’s version of events were denied by McGuigan’s barrister, who said Shane “has no memory of saying that to you and it wasn’t his view either”.
