James Walter "Buddy" McGirt (born January 17, 1964) is an American former

professional boxer Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional bouts are supervised by a regulatory autho ...

who competed from 1982 to 1997, and has since worked as a boxing trainer. He held world championships in two

weight classes Weight classes are divisions of competition used to match competitors against others of their own size. Weight classes are used in a variety of sports, especially combat sports (such as boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts and wrestling). Altern ...

, including the

IBF The International Boxing Federation (IBF) is one of four major organizations recognized by the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) which sanctions professional boxing bouts, alongside the World Boxing Association (WBA), World Boxing Counci ...

junior welterweight Light welterweight, also known as junior welterweight or super lightweight, is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional boxing In professional boxing, light welterweight is contested between the lightweight and welterweight divisions, ...

title in 1988, and the WBC and lineal

welterweight Welterweight is a weight class in combat sports. Originally the term "welterweight" was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like Muay Thai, taekwondo, and mixed martial arts also use it for their own weight division system to classify the ...

titles from 1991 to 1993. As a trainer he has worked with multiple world champions, including

Arturo Gatti Arturo Gatti (April 15, 1972 – July 11, 2009) was an Italian-Canadian professional boxer who competed from 1991 to 2007. A world champion in two weight classes, Gatti held the IBF junior lightweight title from 1995 to 1998, and the WBC super ...

Antonio Tarver Antonio Deon Tarver (born November 21, 1968) is an American former professional boxer and boxing commentator. In boxing he competed from 1997 to 2015, and held multiple light heavyweight world championships, including the WBA (Unified), WBC, IBF ...

Hasim Rahman Hasim Sharif Rahman (born November 7, 1972) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1994 to 2014. He is a two-time world heavyweight champion, having held the unified WBC, IBF, IBO and lineal titles in 2001; and the WBC tit ...

Paulie Malignaggi Paul "Paulie" Malignaggi (; ; born November 23, 1980) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 2001 to 2017 and has since worked as a boxing commentator and analyst. He held world championships in two weight classes, including ...

, and

Sergey Kovalev Sergey Alexandrovich Kovalev (russian: Сергей Александрович Ковалёв (Ko-va-LYOV); born 2 April 1983) is a Russian professional boxer. He has held multiple light-heavyweight world championships, including the WBA (Undi ...

. McGirt was named Trainer of the Year for 2002 by the

Boxing Writers Association of America The Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA) was originally formed in 1926 as the Boxing Writers Association of Greater New York. The association's purpose is to promote better working conditions for boxing writers, as well as hold its writers ...

. He is presently the coach of WBO world champion

Zhanibek Alimkhanuly Janibek Alimkhanuly (also spelled as Zhanibek Alimkhanuly, born 1 April 1993) is a Kazakhstani professional boxer who has held the WBO middleweight title since August 2022. As an amateur he won gold medals at the 2013 World Championships, 201 ...

and though Janibek has claimed in Kazakh interviews that he is not fond of McGirt, they have a deep respect for each other.

Professional boxing career

McGirt's aspirations of becoming a professional boxer existed at a young age."They said I was too small," McGirt says now. "They said I couldn't do it. I said I could. I said I'd be the first world champion from Long Island - so the guy they said couldn't do it is the one who did it." Fulfilling this childhood dream, he did so with a vengeance, turning professional in the year 1983, the year he graduated from Brentwood High School. In 1988, McGirt defeated Frankie Warren, avenging what was at that time his only defeat, to win the

light welterweight Light welterweight, also known as junior welterweight or super lightweight, is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional boxing In professional boxing, light welterweight is contested between the lightweight and welterweight divisions, ...

title.Matthews, Wallace
The Buddy System
''

Newsday ''Newsday'' is an American daily newspaper that primarily serves Nassau and Suffolk counties on Long Island, although it is also sold throughout the New York metropolitan area. The slogan of the newspaper is "Newsday, Your Eye on LI", and f ...

'', February 28, 1988 In his second defense, he lost the title to

Meldrick Taylor Meldrick Taylor (born October 19, 1966) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1984 to 2002. He is a two-weight world champion, having held the IBF junior welterweight title from 1988 to 1990, and the WBA welterweight title ...

.Berger, Phil
Taylor Stops McGirt in 12th For I.B.F. Title
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', September 4, 1988 In November 1991, he defeated Simon Brown to win the Lineal and WBC welterweight titles.Big Win For Little Mac
''

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twic ...

'', December 9, 1991McGirt gets chance, captures welter title
''

Reading Eagle The ''Reading Eagle'' is the major daily newspaper in Reading, Pennsylvania. A family-owned newspaper until the spring of 2019, its reported circulation is 37,000 (daily) and 50,000 (Sundays). It serves the Reading and Berks County region of Pe ...

'', December 1, 1991 Buddy was a scrappy, talented fighter who had an outstanding career in the ring. He defeated men such as Simon Brown, Livingstone Bramble, Saoul Mamby, Edwin Curet, Howard Davis, Frankie Warren, Tony Baltazar, Gennaro Leon, Patrizio Oliva, Gary Jacobs, Tommy Ayers, Willie Rodriguez, Ralph Twinning, Buck Smith, Kevin Pompey, Rafael Williams, John Senegal, Eric Martin, Joe Manley, Tyrone Moore, Nick Rupa, Joe Gatti and George Heckley. At the beginning of 1993, McGirt was the world's top-ranked 147-pound boxer, one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world; but in the first week starting off the year he tore up his left shoulder while training. Without his money punch, the left hook, he had to box virtually one-handed for a total of 24 rounds in two championship fights. He won the first fight, but he lost his title in the second. McGirt lost the title to

Pernell Whitaker Pernell Whitaker Sr. (January 2, 1964 – July 14, 2019) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1984 to 2001, and subsequently worked as a boxing trainer. He was a four-weight world champion, having won titles at lightweight, ligh ...

in 1993.THE SUMMER OF SWEAT: BUDDY MCGIRT, BRENTWOOD'S DETHRONED WELTERWEIGHT, FIGHTS HIS WAY BACK
''

'', September 7, 1993 The following year, he again lost to Whitaker in an attempt to regain the title. In 1997, he retired with a record of 73-6-1 (48 KOs). McGirt was inducted into the

Suffolk Sports Hall of Fame The Suffolk Sports Hall of Fame is an American sports hall of fame based in Suffolk County on Long Island, New York. The non-profit was established during 1990 to honor outstanding people, living or deceased, who have gained prominence and made ...

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...

in the Boxing Category with the Class of 1992. He was inducted into the New Jersey Boxing Hall of Fame in 1998 and inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2019.

Training career

Following his retirement from the ring, McGirt worked as a trainer. His first champion was

Byron Mitchell Byron Deangelo-Tarone Mitchell (born October 31, 1973) is an American former professional boxer who fought from 1996 to 2012. He was the Lineal and two-time WBA super middleweight champion, winning the titles in 1999 and 2001. Amateur career ...

, who he started training six days before beating

Manny Siaca Manuel Alejandro Siaca (born November 21, 1975) is a Puerto Rican boxer at super middleweight. Siaca was born in Toa Baja, Puerto Rico, the son of Manny Siaca Sr., who was a noted boxing trainer and trained the likes of Edwin Rosario and Wilfredo ...

for the WBA

super middleweight Super middleweight, or light cruiserweight, is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing In professional boxing, super middleweight is contested between the middleweight and light heavyweight divisions, in which boxers can weigh between 160 pounds ( ...

title. McGirt would take up training full-time and became committed to the challenge of preparing other boxers to step into the ring. "Anybody can train but not many people can teach," McGirt said. "And that's what boxing is missing now—teachers. There are not many old-school trainers around." McGirt won the Boxing Writers' Association of America Trainer of the Year Award for 2002. McGirt's son, James McGirt Jr., is also a professional boxer. McGirt also trained

Kurt Pellegrino Kurt Joseph Pellegrino (born May 7, 1979) is an American retired mixed martial artist. He competed in the lightweight division for Bellator Fighting Championships and Ultimate Fighting Championship. Early life Pellegrino wrestled for Point Pleas ...

's boxing, his first venture into MMA, and trained heavyweight boxer

Taishan Dong Dong Jianjun (; born 18 May 1988), known by his ring name Taishan Dong, is a Chinese undefeated professional boxer who fights at heavyweight. Amateur career Dong initially started out in basketball, hockey and kickboxing, taking the ring name ...

. Buddy was trained and managed by Al Certo and Stuart Weiner. McGirt, and some of the fighters he trained are documented in the book "Bring it to the Ring: A Boxing Yearbook and Inspirational Message to Today's Youths." The book was published in 2005. Buddy was interviewed in 2018 by Darren Carter on the "Pocket Party Podcast" that is available on iTunes, YouTube, Stitcher, and Anchor. McGirt also began training

for his rematch against Eleider Alvarez (who knocked out Kovalev in 7th round in the 1st fight) and led him to a Unanimous Decision Win with 116–112 on 2 cards and 120–108 on the 3rd.

Professional boxing record

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McGirt, Buddy 1964 births Boxers from New York (state) People from Brentwood, New York American boxing trainers Brentwood High School (Brentwood, New York) alumni International Boxing Federation champions Living people World Boxing Council champions American male boxers Light-middleweight boxers World light-welterweight boxing champions World welterweight boxing champions International Boxing Hall of Fame inductees

Professional boxing career

Training career

Professional boxing record

See also

References

External links