THE BOXING world is mourning the death of Manfred Wolke, who has died aged 81.
The former German welterweight had been battling an incurable form of dementia for several years.
And according to Die Stimme Berlins, he tragically lost his fight with the disease late last month.
Tributes began to pour in for the late Wolke as news of his passing was made public.
One boxing fan wrote: “The great boxing trainer Manfred Wolke has died. RIP.”
Wolke reportedly spent his final days in a care facility in Frankfurt, where his wife Brigitte would regularly visit him.
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But as his condition worsened, Brigitte is said to have started restricting the number of visitors he had.
His protege Henry Maske, however, was allowed to visit him on his 80th birthday.
Fellow coach Ulli Wegner paid tribute to his countryman upon learning of his death.
He said: “Manfred has brought German professional boxing back to the top.
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“That is his achievement.”
The late Wolke trained as a train mechanic before fully throwing himself into boxing.
He excelled in the sport, so much so that he was selected for East Germany‘s 1968 Olympic team.
Wolke would take home a gold medal in the Mexican Games thanks to a win over Cameroon‘s Joseph Bessala in the final of the 147lb tournament.
He’d turn his hand to training the next generation of fighters after hanging up his gloves.
Wolke trained three-time IBF heavyweight title challenger Axel Schulz, who most notably shared the ring with Michael Morer, George Foreman and Wladimir Klitschko.
Wolke helped guide his protege Maske to the prestigious IBF strap, which he defended ten times, in 1993.
He most recently trained former unified title challenger Francesco Pianeta, who locked horns with Brit boxing icon Tyson Fury in 2018.
Source: Boxing - thesun.co.uk
