George Francis (trainer)

George Francis ("c." 1929 – 2002) was a British boxing athletic trainer who trained world champion boxers such as Frank Bruno, John Conteh, John Mugabi, and Cornelius Boza Edwards. He was found hanged at his home in London, apparently having committed suicide. He was 73.

External links

* " [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/boxing/1917641.stm George Francis found dead] " - BBC Sport article dated Tuesday, April 9, 2002

George Francis was born in 1929 in Camden Town north London. He was only eight when his father died, and by the age of 11 he had begun full-time to work to support his family.

His earliest involvement with boxing was allegedly as a bare-knuckle street fighter but, after a local policemen persuaded him to quit pavement warfare, he turned to amateur boxing.

Married at 16, George Francis worked his way up the ranks at Covent Garden Market and eventually became a porter. He was a member of a local boxing club and it was there that he decided to switch from boxer to trainer.

These early ventures into the fight game were to be the start of an amazing career which saw him become involved with some of the greatest boxers in the world. George committed suicide in 2002 after the unfortunate deaths of both his wife, Joan, and his son, Simon.