Eddie Futch was quite simply one of the most decent, informed and special men that you could ever meet in boxing or anywhere else.

I met him in November of last year at the Lennox Lewis-David Tua fight.

We chatted for some time about fights and fighters and even at the age of 89 his recall of events was superb.

He was always happy to talk about the great Joe Louis, a man he knew well and had sparred with, despite the fact that Louis was a heavyweight and he was just a lightweight.

During his career, Futch trained a number of heavyweights, including both Joe Frazier and Ken Norton. Significantly, both fighters were able to beat Muhummad Ali.

Fondly remembered

Aside from those two, he also trained Larry Holmes, Riddick Bowe and Trevor Berbick, as well as lower weight fighters such as Mike McCallum and Wayne McCullough.

While he brought considerable skill to his profession, he was also fondly remembered for the fact that he would never sneer at or abuse another fighter.

He was very much a man of principles and values and I personally never heard him say ill of anyone in the sport, which is something when you consider this sport.