Eddie Futch was born on August 9, 1911,
in Hillsboro, Mississippi. He died on October 10, 2001, in Las Vegas,
Nevada. Futch won the following in amateurs: Detroit Athletic
Association Lightweight championship, 1932; Detroit Golden Gloves, 1933.
Boxing trainer and manager until death in 2001.
Futch was in boxing for 66 years. During that time he earned the respect
and trust of most people in the sport because of his integrity. He
received several awards from the Boxing Writers Association of America
over the years, and before his death was to be honored at his 90th
birthday with a star-studded gala event at Caesar's Palace. He trained
thousands of amateurs and 21 champions; six of those champions were
heavyweights: Joe Frazier, Ken Norton, Trevor Berbick, Riddick Bowe,
Larry Holmes, and Michael Spinks. It was his desire to help others
through boxing. Two of his fighters, Joe Frazier and Ken Norton, were
the only ones to defeat Muhammad Ali during his prime years. He was
quoted as saying by Sports Illustrated, "Boxing enabled me to create a
life for myself out of the ghetto. It has been my passion for the last
six decades to help other young men make something of themselves." One
of the boxers he sparred with was Joe Louis, who was still an amateur
but fast becoming known in boxing circles. Louis would go on to become
the heavyweight champion of the world in 1937, holding the title until
1948. He was considered by many boxing insiders and fans to be the
finest heavyweight champion of all time. Louis broke barriers and became
admired around the world. Copyrighted on Answers.com : Full Biography
http://www.answers.com/topic/eddie-futch
