The legendary fighter and world class trainer Buddy McGirt sat down with 8 Count News at the press conference for this weeks edition of ESPN’s Friday Night Fights, where his son, Buddy McGirt Jr. will be fighting in the co main event against Angel Hernandez. Buddy took the time to talk about his son,
AS: Welcome down to Key West Buddy, How are you doing?
BM: I am doing great. Everything is going good.
AS: Your son, Buddy Jr, is fighting Friday Night against Angel Hernandez. What do you know about Angel?
BM: I know Angel is a tough, capable guy. I’ve seen him fight against Winky Wright and I know he has a lot of experience. He is a guy who is going to come in and try to get the upset.
AS: Buddy Jr. is coming off a draw in his last fight against Marcus Upshaw. What has he done differently to prepare for this fight and to improve?
BM: Well I gave my son an ultimatum, you either take this seriously or you quit. He said, look dad I don’t have the quit in me, I am going to start taking this serious. He has to understand that no one is going to give you nothing in this world, and especially in this business. He has to go out there and earn it.
AS: Other than your son, you also have Paul Malignaggi, Lamon Brewster, Antonio Tarver and several other top contenders. After this weekend, what does some of your other fighters have coming up?
BM: Well the past month, I have just been focused on training my son. I have Elvir Muriqi fighting Clinton Woods next month in England. In the next week or so, I will know more about what I have going on.
AS: Paulie (Malignaggi) is in the 140 pound division where a super fight between Manny Pacquiao and Ricky Hatton may take place later this year. Who would you take in that fight?
BM: Pacquiao [with an instant reply]
AS: If you where training a fighter to beat Pacquiao, how would you train a fighter to beat him?
BM: Well, you would have to watch the tapes of the fights between him and Juan Manuel Marquez. Marquez has had the most success against him and has given Pacquiao the most trouble.You have to study him and not necessarily be like him, but use some of the tricks he uses to make it a tough fight.
AS: Any final comment?
BM: Thanks for all of the support from over the years. God bless everybody and have a Happy New Years.
