Boxing coach and manager
Born: December 26, 1963;
Died: April 21, 2017
NICK Durandt, who has died in a motorbike accident aged 53, was a boxing coach and manager who produced more Springbok champions than anyone else at every level up to world title status.
Outspoken and hugely flamboyant, Durandt coached, guided and produced 95 South African champions. Among the 30 world champions he worked with were Philip Ndou and Cassius Bayoili, who defeated Scotland featherweight Brian Carr. Carr was a quality performer but not even hometown advantage at the Kelvin Hall in Glasgow in 1999 could prevent Durandt’s man from stopping Carr inside the distance.
Soon Durandt's stellar reputation saw him being hired to advise American stars like Oscar DeLaHoya, Evander Holyfield and Roy Jones.
Similarly, after Britain's Lennox Lewis seemed to be invincible against all the pretenders to his world heavyweight throne, American heavyweight Hasin Rahman's team asked Durandt to help them. Durandt had told them that he had detected tactical weaknesses in Lewis's style and so it proved when Rahman scored a major upset by knocking huge favourite Lewis out to take his title.
Nick Durandt was born in England, the son of a professional footballer with Wolverhampton Wanderers and Charlton Athletic. Initially, he had absolutely no interest in boxing -preferring football.
However, after the family emigrated to South Africa, the young Durandt came under the influence of Willi Toweel younger brother of South Africa's very first world champion, bantamweight Vic Toweel, who outpointed Glasgow's Peter Keenan for the world 8st 6lbs title in 1952 in Johannesburg.
But like another great trainer and coach of champions, Angelo Dundee, Durandt never boxed competitively but he could read boxers and their styles in a way that became a winning formula to the 95 Springbok boxing champions who profited from Durandt's peerless tutelage.
No sunrises therefore, when he was awarded a lifetime achievement award from the South Africa boxing federation in 2016. But many agreed that he should have been appointed the overall supremo of South African boxing given the enormously benign influence he had had on the sport.
However, many also agreed that Nick Durandt's failure to be so honoured was because some people in high places in Springbok boxing resented his well-known outspokenness.
Durandt was also a leading light in the South African motorcycle scene, being elected as president of Crusaders Bike club. Alas, it was this passion for motorbikes that led to his death on a South African road on April 21.
In a moving tribute, South African president, Jacob Zuma said: "South Africa has lost one of its best trainers in the history of boxing - who was not only a trainer, promoter and manager, but a father figure to his stellar trainees."
Nick Durandt is survived by his extended family.
BRIAN DONALD
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