Take A Bow, Brian McIntyre, And Tell Us What’s Next For Herring and Crawford

Brian McIntyre deserves a good deal of credit, being that Jamel Herring, with McIntyre training him, is undefeated, and now holds a 130 pound strap.

On Memorial Day weekend, on ESPN, Herring handled Masayuki Ito, and scored a mild upset with his ace ring generalship. On what would have been his late daughters' tenth birthday, the Fighting Marine used a rock-solid game-plan and stayed focused over 12 rounds to snag the belt off Ito.

Today, Friday, Herring and McIntyre are in NYC, to hit the Boxing Writers Association of America awards gala, at the Copacabana in Times Square, NYC.

Fightposium did this awesome illustration of Herring.

I checked in with the trainer, who also wears a manager hat, for Terence Crawford and also Herring. First off, I told the Nebraskan that he deserves ample credit for helping the 33 year old fighting pride of Coram, Long Island achieve a world title win.

“It ain't about me, it's about the fighters,” said McIntyre. “They win, I win. They lose, I lose. The winning was always instilled in me, me and my team.”

So, did the trainer KNOW that Herring, now 20-2, would beat Ito? Or did McIntyre think that this was a coinflip fight? “Going in, I had a feeling Jamel was going to win. He showed the will and that grind in the camp. It was a no nonsense camp. We knew he only had a right hand, he'd paw with his jab, and we wanted to throw a stiff jab, double up, step to the right, and let the left hand go. We knew he'd try and overwhelm you, we knew to keep moving to the right, and you don't have to worry.”

McIntyre is very happy that a man the caliber of Herring now has a strap.

“He's a good good, a great guy. You couldn't ask for a better fighter to train, he always listens, he's willing to go to hell and back and make things good for him and the team.”

Yep, sparring was good in this camp, but no, Herring didn't spar with Terence Crawford before the Ito scrap. “Bud was coming off that win, over Khan, he was traveling a bit,” Mac said.

And we are curious about what could come next for Jamel…What about it, manager Mac?

“I'm thinking maybe we get a voluntary defense, then go after Miguel Berchelt, (also under the Top Rank umbrella)…You want it, we want it, the stage is set,” he said, with the understanding that the WBC 130 champ was ringside for the Herring-Ito faceoff. “Maybe let him get one more fight, so he can keep enjoying the title more and more. I say enjoy it, I mean own it, so when he does go into unification, he know what it's gonna feel like to not wanna lose it!

“With Berchelt, I did commentary the last three four fights, he's an alright fighter, I think he's one dimensional and can be beaten. We will be doing the homework and having the right camp.”

And while we are THERE…what about next for Crawford? “We are waiting to hear back from Todd duBoef, and we'll see what ESPN wants to do. We will look at the date available and look for opponent. We will probably be back in the gym full-time in the next couple weeks.”

Any ideas on who…if we are to assume, maybe that Errol Spence and Bud Crawford will not be gloving up with each other soon? “We got those Russian guys, those British guys, whoever want to get on that chopping block, we're more than willing to fight anybody.”

OK, got it…Hey, is Bud ever getting frustrated that he can't get that Spence bout? “I don't think he's getting frustrated, he knows he's gotta be patient. He knows we're trying to do everything possible to get that Spence fight. Of course, those checks coming in are important. Hey, why not milk that cow while the cow has that milk. No, I haven't heard anything about Arum and Al Haymon (talking about making Crawford-Spence). Spence and Porter supposedly dissolved, so I don't know where he's at next. But we stay by the phone, I'm always pushing for that fight. But I don't really worry, it's my job as trainer is to stay in the gym and help the guy get ready, and as a manager to look out for the fighter, make those fights happen. Kell Brook, he's on the list. Is he easy work? Yeah…but he's a good name.”