No bitterness for Shane McGuigan following silent Frampton split

Shane McGuigan has stressed that he has moved on from his split with Carl Frampton as the young trainer approaches his eighth world title fight.

The 28 year old had been chief seconds for ‘The Jackal’ since Frampton’s European super bantamweight title win over Kiko Martinez back in 2013, but their relationship came to an abrupt halt during the Summer.

With Frampton parting company with manager Barry McGuigan, father of Shane, his time at McGuigan’s Gym in London also came to an end.

No official announcement was ever made, but it soon became apparent that Frampton and the youngest McGuigan had parted ways, with the coach deleting the fighter’s name from his own Twitter bio.

In an interview with talkSPORT during the week, McGuigan revealed that he had not spoken to Frampton since July 28th – after Frampton missed weight for the subsequently cancelled Andres Gutierrez fight.

He explained on-air how “we haven’t talked since that dreaded night when Carl’s opponent fell in the shower. It’s a bit of a shame it had to end this way. That was Carl’s decision and I wish him all the best in the future.”

“I was groomsman at his wedding and he was groomsman at mine, but people move on and people change, and that’s one of the reasons why Carl has made the decisions he’s made.”

Later asked if the breakdown of their relationship was a disappointment, McGuigan told Press Association Sport “no, not at all.”

“The biggest thing is continuing and having respect for one another; not having a bitter taste in your mouth, and there’s no bitter taste in my mouth.”

“It’s great: I’ve got more time in the day and can put a little bit more into George Groves.”

The last twelve months have been tough for McGuigan results-wise, with losses for departed fighters Frampton, Conrad Cummings, and David Haye.

The Irish coach however is unperturbed, and mused:

“Do I feel I need to prove myself again? No, not at all.”

“I led George Groves to a world title, and Josh Taylor dismantled Ohara Davies. I’m there for them, for their safety. I don’t give a crap about my reputation. If I really cared about it I’d be boxing.”

“David snapped his Achilles and was four rounds to one up before he snapped it, and Carl lost a majority decision to an elite fighter, didn’t perform to the best of his ability.”

McGuigan will be back in the corner again tomorrow night as Groves defends his WBA super middleweight title against Swindon-Donegal southpaw Jamie Cox at the Wembley Arena in the quarter finals of the World Boxing Super Series.

The McGuigan’s Gym stable has undergone changes in recent months, with Chantelle Cameron and Chris Billam-Smith joining Groves, Taylor, and Josh Pritchard in London – while Haye, Frampton, and Cummings have all left the stable.

Frampton himself returns on Saturday November 18th at the SSE Odyssey Arena in a warm-up fight against Horacio Garcia.