Errol Christie (29 June 1963 – 11 June 2017) was an English

professional boxer Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional bouts are supervised by a regulatory autho ...

and boxing trainer. He was the captain of the English amateur boxing team from 1980 to 1983 and European amateur champion in 1983. After turning professional he was a regular fixture on ''ITV Fight Night'' in the 1980s. After retiring from boxing he became a trainer in

white-collar boxing White-collar boxing is a form of boxing in which people in white-collar professions train to fight at special events. Most have had no prior boxing experience. Early history White-collar boxing has its beginnings at Gleason's Gym in New York Ci ...

Career

Boxing career

Christie was born in Leicester and raised in

Radford, Coventry Radford is a suburb and electoral ward of Coventry, located approximately 1.5 miles north of Coventry city centre. It is covered by the Coventry North West constituency. Geography Radford ward is bounded by Holbrooks, Foleshill, St Michael's, S ...

, one of seven brothers.Arnot, Chris (2010)
'Talking to teenagers was more terrifying than boxing'
, ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', 12 May 2010. Retrieved 26 July 2015Eccleston, Ben (2015)
Coventry boxing legend Errol Christie facing biggest fight of his life after being diagnosed with lung cancer
, '' Coventry Telegraph'', 20 March 2015. Retrieved 26 July 2015 At the age of eight, he started boxing at the Standard-Triumph gym in

Coventry Coventry ( or ) is a city in the West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its city status until the Middle Ages. The city is governed b ...

managed by Tom McGarry. Out of 80 fights in his early career, Christie lost only two and gained a reputation for early knockouts.As Errol Christie battles cancer, his son Louie Christie prepares for his own fight
, ''Boxing News'', 23 July 2015. Retrieved 26 July 2015 He was

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Av ...

champion in 1976, schoolboy champion in 1977, NABC champion in 1979 and senior ABA champion in 1981, beating Cameron Lithgow in the final. He was appointed England boxing captain from 1980 to 1983. He moved to London in 1981 to further his boxing career. In 1982, he became European amateur under-19 champion after defeating Assylbek Kilimov in the semi-finals and Moe Gruciano in the finals at

Schwerin Schwerin (; Mecklenburgian Low German: ''Swerin''; Latin: ''Suerina'', ''Suerinum'') is the capital and second-largest city of the northeastern German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern as well as of the region of Mecklenburg, after Rostock. It ...

in what was then

East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

.Bunce, Steve (2015)
Audley Harrison's abusers forget the debt he's due, but Errol Christie will always remember what he owes the police
, ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...

'', 31 March 2015. Retrieved 26 July 2015 Christie was listed in ''

The Guinness Book of Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...

'' as the only British boxer to win all 10 amateur titles. After turning professional in 1982 with new manager Burt McCarthy he won his first 13 fights, 12 inside the distance, including a victory over French champion

Joel Bonnetaz Joel or Yoel is a name meaning "Yahweh Is God" and may refer to: * Joel (given name), origin of the name including a list of people with the first name. * Joel (surname), a surname * Joel (footballer, born 1904), Joel de Oliveira Monteiro, Brazili ...

in February 1984. He earned the right to wear the

Kronk Gym Kronk Gym is a boxing gym located in Detroit, once led by trainer Emanuel Steward. It was run out of the basement of the oldest recreation center of the City of Detroit, and became a household word in the sport of boxing and its gold shorts a magn ...

golden shorts after impressing its promoter

Emanuel Steward Emanuel "Manny" Steward (July 7, 1944 – October 25, 2012) was an American boxer, trainer, and commentator for HBO Boxing. He was also called the Godfather of Detroit Boxing. Steward trained 41 world champion fighters throughout his care ...

while sparring there. In September 1984 Jose Seys delivered a surprise knockout which shook Christie's confidence. Seven more wins followed, including a win over former Mexican champion Gonzalo Montes, before a bout with

Mark Kaylor Mark Kaylor (born 11 May 1961) is a former professional British boxer. Kaylor was born in Canning Town but from the age of nine was brought up in Stanford-le-Hope, Essex. Kaylor won the British schoolboy title the first year he was eligible ...

in a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

middleweight title eliminator at

Wembley Arena Wembley Arena (originally the Empire Pool, now known as OVO Arena Wembley for sponsorship reasons) is an indoor arena next to Wembley Stadium in Wembley, London, England, used for music, comedy, family entertainment and sport. The 12,500-s ...

in November 1985 in which he was knocked out in the eighth round. After winning his next four fights, beating Nigerian champion Hunter Clay and former

welterweight Welterweight is a weight class in combat sports. Originally the term "welterweight" was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like Muay Thai, taekwondo, and mixed martial arts also use it for their own weight division system to classify th ...

world title challenger Sean Mannion, he suffered another setback when he was stopped by Charles Boston in December 1986. He won eight of his thirteen fights between June 1987 and October 1990, and in November 1990 faced

Michael Watson Michael Watson (born 15 March 1965) is a British former professional boxer who competed from 1984 to 1991. He held the Commonwealth middleweight title from 1989 to 1991, and challenged three times for a world title between 1990 and 1991. Wats ...

at the

National Exhibition Centre The National Exhibition Centre (NEC) is an exhibition centre located in Marston Green, Solihull, West Midlands, England. It is near junction 6 of the M42 motorway, and is adjacent to Birmingham Airport and Birmingham International railway sta ...

; Watson stopped him in the third round. Christie was out of the ring for over two years, returning in March 1993 to face Trevor Ambrose, losing after being stopped in the second round of what proved to be his final fight.

Post-boxing career

Christie had tried his hand at

stand up comedy Stand-up comedy is a comedic performance to a live audience in which the performer addresses the audience directly from the stage. The performer is known as a comedian, a comic or a stand-up. Stand-up comedy consists of one-liners, stories, ...

towards the end of his boxing career and after retiring from boxing in 1993 he worked as a market trader for six years.Lee, Veronica (2010)
Boxing: My weapons were my fists – now it's guns and knives
, ''

'', 6 June 2010. Retrieved 26 July 2015 In 1999, Christie began teaching white-collar boxers, initially at the Real Fight Club, and from 2003 at Gymbox in

Holborn Holborn ( or ) is a district in central London, which covers the south-eastern part of the London Borough of Camden and a part ( St Andrew Holborn Below the Bars) of the Ward of Farringdon Without in the City of London. The area has its root ...

, London. In 2005, ''

'' and other newspapers reported an incident where one of Errol's white collar-boxing students, film distributor Simon Franks, hit Hollywood actor George Clooney at the premiere of his film ''

Good Night, and Good Luck ''Good Night, and Good Luck'' (stylized as ''good night, and good luck.'') is a 2005 historical drama film about American television news directed by George Clooney, with the movie starring David Strathairn, Patricia Clarkson, Jeff Daniels, Ro ...

''. An argument between the two men was alleged to have got out of control. Christie was quoted in ''The Guardian'' asking whether his student, Franks, had used his left hook. His students have included TV presenter

Dermot O'Leary Seán Dermot Fintan O'Leary Jr. (born 24 May 1973) is an English broadcaster who currently works for ITV and BBC Radio 2. His radio career began when he worked as a disc jockey at Essex Radio, but he is best known for being the presenter of ' ...

, former footballer Gianluca Vialli, musician

Seal Seal may refer to any of the following: Common uses * Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly: ** Earless seal, or "true seal" ** Fur seal * Seal (emblem), a device to imp ...

, and journalist

Tony McMahon Anthony McMahon (born 24 March 1986) is an English football coach and former player who played as a right back. Born in Bishop Auckland, County Durham, McMahon started his playing career with Middlesbrough, with whom he spent eight seasons, ...

. He also worked with children in schools and community centres. In 2010, Christie was taken on as the fight consultant to the play ''Sucker Punch'' written by Roy Williams and directed by Sacha Wares, performed at the

Royal Court Theatre The Royal Court Theatre, at different times known as the Court Theatre, the New Chelsea Theatre, and the Belgravia Theatre, is a non-commercial West End theatre in Sloane Square, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, England ...

Chelsea, London Chelsea is an affluent area in west London, England, due south-west of Charing Cross by approximately 2.5 miles. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames and for postal purposes is part of the south-western postal area. Chelsea histori ...

. In March 2010, Christie published his biography ''No Place To Hide'', about racism in both the boxing game and 1970s/1980s Britain in collaboration with McMahon. The book was longlisted for the William Hill sports writer prize for 2010.

Personal life

Christie was the uncle of

Cyrus Christie Cyrus Sylvester Frederick Christie (born 30 September 1992) is a professional footballer who plays as a defender for Championship club Hull City and the Republic of Ireland national team. Early and personal life Christie was born in Coventry, ...

, a professional footballer for

Hull City A.F.C. Hull City Association Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Kingston upon Hull, Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, that compete in the . They have played home games at the MKM Stadium since moving ...

and the Irish national team.

Illness and death

In March 2015 Christie was diagnosed with

small-cell lung cancer Small-cell carcinoma is a type of highly malignant cancer that most commonly arises within the lung, although it can occasionally arise in other body sites, such as the cervix, prostate, and gastrointestinal tract. Compared to non-small cell c ...

. He died at St. Christopher's Hospice in London on 11 June 2017 of complications from the disease, aged 53.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Christie, Errol Black British sportsmen English male boxers English people of Jamaican descent Middleweight boxers Sportspeople from Coventry Boxers from Leicester 1963 births 2017 deaths Deaths from lung cancer in England England Boxing champions