Trainer Brian ‘Bomac’ McIntyre says there was no malicious intent behind the incident that landed him in a British slam for five weeks.
The head coach of undisputed welterweight champion Terence Crawford was arrested on Sept. 4 at Manchester Airport in Manchester, England, on charges of attempting to board a plan with a gun in his checked luggage. The matter occurred one day after McIntyre helped Chris Eubank Jr. earn a stoppage win over Liam Smith in their middleweight rematch.
Last week, the 53-year-old McIntyre was released from prison and handed a 20-month suspended prison after a hearing at Manchester Crown Court that featured in-person character witness statements from some of McIntyre’s closest friends, including Crawford.
McIntyre spoke more about his case in an interview with ESPN’s Mark Kriegel last Saturday night during an ESPN broadcast of the middleweight title unification bout between Janibek Alimkhanuly and Germany’s Vincenzo Gualtieri. Also on the card was McIntyre’s client, rising lightweight Keyshawn Davis,who won a 10-round decision over Nahir Albright.
“Man, I’m gonna be honest with you,” McIntyre told Kriegel. “I got caught with a firearm at the airport in my luggage going underneath,” McIntyre said. “Obviously, it was an honest mistake. I forgot that it was in there, it had been in there a couple of months, since May, since we got into camp with Terence.”
McIntyre said the firearm was licensed.
“With the grace of God and a lot of prayers from the fans and my family, I was just at peace,” McIntyre said when asked about how he got through his prison sentence. “You know, I wouldn’t try to do anything wrong. I did break the law over there, but it’s common for us Americans to carry guns.”
“I carry two or three of them at a time, sometimes,” McIntyre added.
Sean Nam is the author of Murder on Federal Street: Tyrone Everett, the Black Mafia, and the Last Golden Age of Philadelphia Boxing.