Errol Christie, the only British boxer to win ten amateur titles, dies aged 53 after losing lung cancer battle

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Former boxer Errol Christie has died at the age of 53 after losing his fight with lung cancer.

The Leicester-born middleweight is in the Guinness Book of Records as the only British boxer to win ten amateur titles.

However, perhaps his most famous fight came outside the ring when he tussled in the rain with opponent Mark Kaylor.

Former boxer Errol Christie (left) has died at the age of 53 after losing his fight with cancer

Leicester-born middleweight Christie is in the Guinness Book of Records as the only British boxer to win ten amateur titles. Pictured, during his fighting days

Christie’s nephew Cyrus plays for Derby County and started for the Republic of Ireland in their World Cup qualifier.

He led the tributes by tweeting: ‘Legends never die, rest in paradise uncle, you’re not in pain anymore'.

Former heavy weight champion Frank Bruno also paid his respects to Christie.

Sharing a picture of the pair together, he posted: 'Very very saddened to hear Errol Christie has passed away after a long battle with cancer, God rest his soul. Such a talented man...RIP'

Ex-British boxing champ turned-pundit Johnny Nelson wrote: 'Errol Christie RIP after a long battle with lung cancer you were one of Britain's most talented fighters back in the day.'

Eccentric British boxing star Chris Eubank wrote: 'Errol Christie one of the old masters of boxing has passed away. I sparred with him many times in our early 20s & he was a sweetheart RIP'

While boxing promoter Eddie Hearn tweeted: ‘RIP. An exceptional fighter and a lovely man.’

In February last year Christie spoke to Sports Mail about his cancer diagnosis, which was brought on after a chance encounter with a police officer.

He said: ‘I was coming out of Lewisham train station last year and this copper comes up and takes me down. Quite rough, you know?

‘Probably sees a black guy and thinks, “He’s up to no good”. Thought I was a bad boy, a robber or something. But I’d done nothing. Anyway, I get thrown in the car and taken to the station.

Christie was seen as one of the bright hopes of British boxing, but his career took a down turn after a high profile loss to Mark Kaylor in 1985. Left, Christie during his fighting days and right, in 2016

‘After a while they let me go but there was pain around my chest for a few days that I thought was from the copper, so I went to the hospital for an X-ray. They had a look and saw something. That was it. Cancer. At least they found it.

‘So I have to thank the copper, really, don’t I? Thanks, pal.’ 

In the early 1980s Christie was seen as the nation's great boxing hope.

In one sparring session he claimed to have knocked out Chris Eubank’s tooth and in a publicity shoot he was paired with Muhammad Ali. 

‘He told me I was pretty but not as pretty as him', he said.

But after losing a British title eliminator in front of 10,000 at Wembley Arena to Kaylor in 1985 his career took a turn for the worse.

Christie's most famous fight came outside the ring when he tussled with opponent Mark Kaylor

Pictured: Christie in action (gold shorts) during a bought in December 1986

After a succession of defeats, by his mid-20s, Christie’s career was going nowhere and when the stock market crashed in 1987, he lost a home in Dulwich and the luxury lifestyle that went with it.

He later went to work as a bouncer, a ‘terrible’ stand-up comic, a construction hand and a trader on a Lewisham market stall for 14 years. 

Christie was also a personal trainer to celebrities including former Chelsea player and manager Gianluca Vialli.

In 2010 he published a book about his life called, No Place to Hide: How I put the Black in the Union Jack - a compelling and brutal account which was critically acclaimed.