Last night at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, Super Middleweight James McGirt Jr. improved his record to 22-2-1 with 11 knockouts by impressively stopping journeyman John Mackey in the second round on the undercard of the Roy Jones-Bernard Hopkins rematch. After a relatively pedestrian first round McGirt Jr. exploded in the second and landed a flurry of punches against the Montgomery, Alabama fighter as he was on the ropes. Mackey was down and the fight was soon waived off.
It was refreshing win for the young McGirt, who had a rough patch between April 2008 and January 2009 in which he lost two surprising fights to Carlos De Leon Jr. and Angel Hernandez. McGirt was first stopped by De Leon Jr. on Showtime after letting his opponent back into a fight he was clearly winning and he later seemed to be in a funk in dropping a close decision to Hernandez after going ten rounds in Key West, Florida.
Those two losses dampened the belief of many in McGirt and since then he has stayed under the radar, winning three bouts in the past year including last night?s stoppage of Mackey. The win seemed to be noteworthy because the New York native?s confidence has seemed to come back around.
With McGirt Jr. for the whole ride has been his father, James ?Buddy? McGirt, a former two-time champion in his own right. When speaking with Buddy after the fight he answered whether or not there were any extra emotions attached from being in the corner with his own son.
?Sometimes there is,? McGirt stated. ?He was off for a long time and he was going through a lot of stuff. But he seems to have his career on track and I definitely thank Square Ring for giving him this opportunity.?
McGirt has made a name for himself in recent years as a top-level trainer after working with some of the sport?s biggest names. There were times when McGirt?s Vero Beach facility was full of the likes of Antonio Tarver, Arturo Gatti, Nate Campbell, Sechew Powell, Vernon Forrest, Paulie Malignaggi and many other notable names. When asked what has been keeping him busy these days McGirt seems to recognize that some things have changed, but maybe for the better.
?I have Cory Spinks in camp right now,? McGirt said. ?I have a bunch of kids who are kind of under the radar right now. I was getting my son ready for this fight and Cory?s fight was postponed so we gotta go back to work and everything else is good.?
At the moment there isn?t any bigger buzz in Las Vegas than the upcoming showdown between undefeated Floyd Mayweather and still-dangerous ?Sugar? Shane Mosley. When asked for his thoughts on the fight McGirt adds a dash of humor.
?I think that Mayweather is going to win,? McGirt stated. ?But I don?t think it is going to be easy. I think it is going to be an interesting fight but if you want a sure bet you should pick the black guy.?
When asked if he was surprised how easily Mosley dispatched Antonio Margarito in January of 2009, McGirt?s expression changes. He points out that Shane?s willingness to test himself time and time again against the world?s best fighters is the main reason why his record had been spotted in recent years.
?No I wasn?t surprised at all,? McGirt said of the Margarito thrashing. ?Shane can fight man. That?s Shane. He may lose but he lost to some very good fighters. So Shane can definitely still fight. Mayweather has to be on his P?s and Q?s for that one.?
In closing McGirt turns his attention to Floyd Mayweather and his comeback to the sport. The trainer was asked whether he was surprised that Mayweather made a return to the sport after 21 months in hibernation and what his thoughts were on his September whitewashing of Juan Manuel Marquez.
?I knew he would come back, for sure. And I am glad he did come back to add some more excitement to boxing. I love Marquez but Floyd was just too big for him.?
