Terence Crawford vouched for his coach in court as Brian McIntyre pled guilty to firearms offenses in the United Kingdom.
The undisputed welterweight champion was called as a character reference for McIntyre following a hearing in Manchester.
Crawford gave a glowing account of McIntyre as he was sentenced to a 20-month suspended sentence. McIntyre had been remanded in jail since Chris Eubank Jr. fought and beat Liam Smith last month.
“Bomac” had traveled to the UK to be in Eubank’s corner, having overseen his resurrection from a loss at the hands of Smith eight months earlier.
Terence Crawford’s trainer, Brian McIntyre, was sentenced for gun charges
However, despite being on the winning side, it wasn’t plain sailing for Bomac on his journey home. The former boxer was stopped at the airport after a handgun and ammunition were found in his bag.
Whether the gun was brought to the UK undetected or McIntyre acquired the weapon on UK soil is unknown. Such was the seriousness of the crime; McIntyre needed several witness statements to help him avoid jail time.
Whether he returns to be in the corner for Eubank Jr. again in the future could now be up for debate. McIntyre spent more than five weeks in a UK prison on remand.
Boxing career
The 53-year-old has a hefty list of accolades in the sport. This reputation would undoubtedly have gone a long way to keeping him out of jail.
McIntyre boxed 21 times as a heavyweight in the 1990s and 2000s. He famously lost to Butterbean in 2004 at Mid America Center in Council Bluffs.
The fact he didn’t get knocked out by the KO machine was his claim to fame in a less-than-successful 7-14 tenure.
He then moved on to training fighters and found his forte. McIntyre has guided Crawford to an astounding 40-0 record and the status of Pound for Pound number one.
Crawford won the lightweight crown before moving up to super lightweight and becoming undisputed. In July, he defeated Errol Spence Jr. with McIntrye at his side to equal the feat at welterweight.
Along with his trainer, Crawford is one of the frontrunners to take honors in the WBN end-of-year awards for 2024.
Both are currently considered to be at the top of their game. A lengthier custodial sentence in the UK could have been catastrophic at this stage.
Phil Jay is an experienced boxing news writer.
Editor of World Boxing News since 2010.
