By: Sean Crose
A few weeks back, colorful combat coach and manager F. Mac Buckley passed away. Though Buckley never achieved the same fame as other hunters, those who knew and worked with him, especially in Connecticut, would find him hard to forget. Buckley is best known for guiding a good portion of the career of Marlon Starling, who became a two-time world champion in the tournament. Another boxer known to be associated with colorful Buckley is analyst and light heavyweight trainer John “The Iceman” Scully. An engaging player and enthusiast of contemporary fighting games, Scully took some time to talk about his old mentor.
“Even as a kid playing boxing, I always knew who he was,” Scully said. “Mac was really as big as Marlon” in those early days. After working with Buckley during his impressive amateur career, Scully decided to partner with the man when he decided to turn professional. “It was just the natural choice to go with him,” Scully said. Indeed, Buckley shows young Scully as having a considerable amount of gravity.
“Mac was in his late forties when he managed me,” says Scully. “To me, he’s much older… I would have thought late fifty.” Regardless of his age, Scully remembers Buckley as someone who wore a variety of hats. “He was a family guy,” Scully said, “a guy with a briefcase, a suit and tie, a big lawyer.” According to Scully, Buckley is nothing without passion. “He does boxing the same way he does law,” says Scully. “He’s a performer. He’s part of the show.”
Although Scully eventually parted ways with Buckley, as Starling eventually did, he credits Buckley for giving him some notable opportunities (four major events in a year and a half is no small number for him. a burgeoning boxer). “We had our ups and downs,” admitted Scully. “He only believes in the original eight weight classes…. I’m a solid 165.” However, Buckley has proven to be an individual that is set in his ways. “He wanted me to go, and I went, to 160,” advertised Scully. “He believes in middleweight or lightweight… that’s why he and I broke up.”
As those who know their boxing well know, Scully has competed quite well on her own and operates at the highest level today. He’s currently busy coaching Artur Beterbiev for Beterbiev’s upcoming match against Joe Smith in June. The colorful and controversial Buckley, however, is still fresh in Scully’s mind – as well as the minds of others. who ever knew about that man, or even knew about him.
Item Memories of a legend under the radar appeared first on BoxingInsider.com.
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