Ray Close obit

Belfast boxing great Ray Close dies aged 57

 

He was not on the list.

One of Northern Ireland’s most gifted boxers, Ray Close, has died at the age of 57.

Born in Belfast in 1969, Close emerged as a highly regarded amateur before turning professional in 1988.

His amateur achievements included Irish titles and success at European level, establishing the technically gifted boxer as one of the most promising fighters to come out of the city.

As a professional, he captured the Irish super-middleweight title early in his career and, in March 1993, travelled to Italy and stopped Vincenzo Nardiello to win the European super-middleweight championship.

Close will be best remembered for his pair of fights with Chris Eubank.

In 1993, the relatively unheralded Belfast challenger travelled to Glasgow to take on the unbeaten WBO super-middleweight champion. Close produced the performance of a lifetime over 12 rounds, with the judges unable to separate the pair.

The rematch, at Belfast’s King’s Hall in May 1994, saw the champion retain his title by split decision.

On both occasions, Close was unfortunate not to be awarded the victory.

A third meeting did not materialise after a brain scan led to the British Boxing Board of Control withdrawing Close’s licence.

Close was convinced he still had plenty left to give and later obtained permission to box in the United States, where he returned to the ring and won five contests.

His professional record eventually finished at 25 wins, two defeats and that famous draw against Eubank in Glasgow.

Close spent the last three years as a resident at the Phoenix Clinic in Newtownards, the only nursing home in Northern Ireland providing specialist care for people aged 18 to 65 with physical disabilities.

Close’s son Benjamin has become a fundraiser for the clinic, running several events, including the Belfast Half Marathon, in his father’s honour.