McIntyre pleads guilty to gun charges, gets suspended sentence
Trainer freed from British jail, can return to United States
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Trainer Brian “BoMac” McIntyre was released from a Manchester, England jail on Monday after spending the past five weeks in custody charged with possession of a firearm and possession of ammunition with a license.
McIntyre pleaded guilty to both counts at Manchester Crown Court and received a 20-month suspended sentence from Judge Nicholas Dean.
McIntyre, 53, of Omaha, Nebraska, who is a leading candidate for trainer of the year honors, was on his way back to the United States after having guided middleweight contender Chris Eubank Jr. to a one-sided 10th-round knockout win over Liam Smith in a rematch on Sept. 2 at AO Arena in Manchester. He was arrested at Manchester Airport on Sept. 3.
Greater Manchester Police said at the time that officers were called by airport officials when a gun and ammunition were found in McIntyre’s checked bag as he boarded a flight bound for Atlanta. McIntyre was subsequently arrested and detained pending Monday’s hearing.
The United Kingdom has some of the strictest gun laws in the world and McIntyre was facing a minimum of five years in prison if convicted.
Several character witnesses appeared in person on McIntyre’s behalf at the hearing, including undisputed welterweight champion Terence Crawford, McIntyre’s most significant fighter, according to British journalist Ollie McManus, who covered the proceedings.
According McManus’ reporting, Judge Dean described McIntyre as a “thoroughly good man.”
McIntyre claimed he was unaware the weapon and ammunition were in his luggage until it was found at the airport.
There remains the question of whether McIntyre traveled to the U.K. with the weapon, which, if he did, means it was missed by TSA agents in the U.S.
McIntyre trained Eubank to his victory barely a month after leading Crawford, whom he has trained for his entire career, to a ninth-round knockout of Errol Spence Jr. in their showdown for the undisputed welterweight title on July 29 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, a victory that lifted three-division champion Crawford to pound-for-pound No. 1 status on most sets of rankings.
McIntyre was training Eubank for the first time, having been hired in the wake of his fourth-round upset knockout loss to Smith in their first fight in January.
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McIntyre photo: Lawrence Lustig/Boxxer
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Shocker. If he’d been some kid from the streets of Manchester he’d have been sent down for years.
Hopefully he'll be able to return to the UK [within the suspended sentence] for future fights.