George Albert Francis (1928–3 or 4 April 2002), known professionally as George Francis, was a British

boxing Boxing is a combat sport and martial art. Taking place in a boxing ring, it involves two people – usually wearing protective equipment, such as boxing glove, protective gloves, hand wraps, and mouthguards – throwing Punch (combat), punch ...

athletic trainer An athletic trainer is a certified and licensed health care provider who practices in the field of sports medicine. Athletic training has been recognized by the American Medical Association The American Medical Association (AMA) is an American ...

who trained world champion boxers such as

Frank Bruno Franklin Roy Bruno (born 16 November 1961) is a British former professional boxer who competed from 1982 to 1996. He held the World Boxing Council (WBC) heavyweight title from 1995 to 1996. At regional level, he held the European heavyweight ...

John Conteh John Anthony Conteh, (born 27 May 1951) is a British former professional boxer who competed from 1971 to 1980. He held the WBC light-heavyweight title from 1974 to 1977, and regionally the European, British and Commonwealth titles between 19 ...

John Mugabi John Mugabi (born March 4, 1960) is a Ugandan former professional boxer who competed from 1980 to 1999. He held the WBC super-welterweight title from 1989 to 1990, and challenged twice for world titles at middleweight, including the undispute ...

, and

Cornelius Boza-Edwards Cornelius Boza-Edwards (born Cornelius Bbosa; 27 May 1956) is a former professional boxer who is the former WBC Super Featherweight champion of the world. Born in Kampala, Uganda, he fought in both the super-featherweight and lightweight divisi ...

, and European champion Bunny Sterling, who also became the first West Caribbean boxer to claim a British title, fighting under Francis' tutelage.

Biography

George Francis was born in

Camden Town Camden Town () is an area in the London Borough of Camden, around north-northwest of Charing Cross. Historically in Middlesex, it is identified in the London Plan as one of 34 major centres in Greater London. Laid out as a residential distri ...

, north London. He was only eight when his father died, and left school at the age of 11 to support his family. In the 1930s, he was a bare-knuckle fighter. After a local policemen persuaded him to give that up he turned to amateur boxing. Francis worked his way up the ranks at

Covent Garden Market Covent Garden is a district in London, on the eastern fringes of the West End of London, West End, between St Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit-and-vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopp ...

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 a career which saw him become involved with some of the greatest boxers in the world. Francis was known for making his boxers run on

Hampstead Heath Hampstead Heath is an ancient heath in London, spanning . This grassy public space sits astride a sandy ridge, one of the highest points in London, running from Hampstead to Highgate, which rests on a band of London Clay. The heath is rambling ...

and swim in the cold water of Highgate Men's Pond as part of their training. After

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained global fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and the piano, and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John ...

visited Francis's gym to watch Conteh train, McCartney employed Francis's son Michael as a bodyguard.

Death

Francis was found

hanged Hanging is killing a person by suspending them from the neck with a noose or ligature strangulation, ligature. Hanging has been a standard method of capital punishment since the Middle Ages, and has been the primary execution method in numerou ...

at his home in Hillway,

Highgate Highgate is a suburban area of N postcode area, north London in the London Borough of Camden, London Boroughs of Camden, London Borough of Islington, Islington and London Borough of Haringey, Haringey. The area is at the north-eastern corner ...

, apparently having died by

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Risk factors for suicide include mental disorders, physical disorders, and substance abuse. Some suicides are impulsive acts driven by stress (such as from financial or ac ...

on 3 or 4 April 2002. He was 73. His death followed a period of severe depression that occurred after the deaths of both his wife, Joan, and his son, Simon.

References

1928 births 2002 suicides 2002 deaths British boxing trainers Suicides by hanging in England English male boxers Suicides in Highgate, Greater London 20th-century English sportsmen {{England-boxing-bio-stub