Errol Christie obit

Christie dies at 53 

He was not on the list.

Errol Christie, one of the most talented boxers from Britain in the past 50 years, has died at the age of 53 after a lengthy battle against lung cancer.

Christie never won a professional title, but was one of the country’s most decorated amateurs — with ten national titles — and the subject of a bidding war between promoters when he turned professional at 19.

A stylish boxer with fast hands, he became one of the biggest stars of ITV boxing in the early 1980s. He also spent a lot of time in America, training at Emanuel Steward’s famed Kronk gym in Detroit. His most infamous fight was a British middleweight title eliminator against Mark Kaylor at Wembley in 1985, which was marred by a brawl at the pre-fight press conference and took place amid racist undertones.

He was knocked out in the eighth round by Kaylor, and retired after being stopped by Michael Watson at the age of 27, although he did unsuccessfully attempt a comeback three years later. In total he won 32 of his 41 professional bouts.

He tried his hand at stand-up comedy and also worked as a market trader. More recently, he trained businessmen and celebrities for “white-collar” boxing events. Christie revealed the cancer diagnosis in 2015. He moved into a hospice last week and died yesterday.