Aurelia Butler

SOMETIMES in life, when your back is against the ropes, and you feel like the whole world is mugging you off, you need people you can reach out to for help who you can trust.Colin Hart was – without a doubt – always one of those people.Colin Hart covered Frank Bruno during the 1990sCredit: News Group Newspapers LtdHart was ringside through Bruno’s highs and lowsCredit: GettyI was just a teenager, a kid really, when our paths crossed for the first time.I was an upcoming amateur fighter making a name for myself. Colin – or Mr Hart as I called him the first time we met – was a top boxing journalist who had covered boxing’s great and good for decades.So I knew when he kept coming back to watch my fights I must have been doing something right.In the end, he was there at ringside, covering every moment: all the highs and all the lows.READ SOME HART CLASSICSRecently, he very kindly picked my fight against Lennox Lewis as one of his top five British bouts of all time.I quite liked the fight as well. Well, apart from the ending if you know what I mean.But it’s the moments outside the ring that I spent with Colin that I’ll remember the most fondly.Boxing now is nothing like it used to be. These days, those press conferences are like mini-fights. The hype, the drama, the aggro – I wouldn’t be surprised if they start putting some of those press conferences on pay-per-view.Most read in BoxingBack in the 80s and 90s it was totally different. Boxers and newspaper journalists would spend time mixing in and around training camps.There was no social media. No 24 hour sports news. Instead, I’d spend hours talking to Colin and his colleagues.COLIN HART: 50th anniversary of Joe Bugner’s first fight with Muhammad Ali, at the Las Vegas Convention Center in 1973These guys knew everything about boxing and Colin had the biggest brain of all. I used to joke that he was a walking encyclopedia.But I secretly soaked up so much of what he said and the advice he gave me.To me, Colin was a serious hombre. When he had something to say it was worth paying attention. . I knew I could trust him too.I’ve not always had a great relationship with the media, especially some of the news-boys over the years. But Colin was as straight as they came – and he quickly became a really firm friend.Maybe that’s why when I hit rock-bottom and started suffering with mental ill health it was Colin I turned to for advice.I remember one phone call, shortly before I was sectioned, where I spoke to Colin on the phone for an hour.Truth be told I was crying out for help and Colin, as ever, advised me the best I could.In the end, like we all have to, I had to find my own way out of my troubles.But Colin was always supporting me, sending me letters and notes. And once I was out of hospital he was one of the first on the phone to wish me well.Colin Hart was The Sun’s ‘Voice of Boxing’ for more than 50 yearsCredit: News Group Newspapers LtdBruno’s rival Lennox Lewis also revered Colin HartCredit: News Group Newspapers LtdSince retiring I regularly saw Colin at various boxing events, sportsmans dinners, and charity galas.If I knew he was there I’d always ask to be on his table, and we’d swap stories about the good old days.I last saw Colin in October, at a tribute dinner in London to celebrate my old mate John Conteh, and he was as sharp and as smart as he’d always been.READ MORE SUN STORIESAs ever it was a privilege to spend some time with him and to share a laugh and a joke. It’s hard to believe I’ll never see him again.When it comes to the kings of boxing reporters, Colin was the undisputed Champion. No-one else will ever lay a glove on him. RIP, my friend.Sporting world pays tribute…THE sporting world has paid emotional tributes to The Sun’s legendary Voice of Boxing.Ricky Hatton said: “I am so sad to hear of the passing of Colin Hart. Colin followed my career from the start all the way through to the big fights in Vegas. Colin is one of the last great boxing journalists and he will be sadly missed. RIP old mate.”Michael Buffer said: “I was honoured to know the legendary Boxing Hall of Fame journalist, Colin Hart, for almost all of my career in the sport. His writings and passion for boxing are universally recognised as among the best ever.”Joe Calzaghe said: “Colin was a real giant of boxing writers and there will never be another like him. He will be sorely missed and my deepest condolences go to his family, friends and colleagues.”Read more tributes including from Lennox Lewis and Frank Bruno. More

I WAS only with Colin at the undisputed heavyweight world title fight between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk in Saudi Arabia in May and he looked so fit and strong.We were sat behind Usyk’s wife and when she kept standing up to cheer on her man, Colin was politely telling her to sit down so he could see the action.Colin Hart got to know Lennox Lewis during the 1990sCredit: News Group Newspapers LtdLewis used Hart’s critiques to fuel him and the two became friendsCredit: News Group Newspapers LtdEven in the VIP seats, Colin was still in ‘journalist mode’ wanting to capture every second and know exactly what had happened.Afterwards, when Usyk had got his hand raised, his wife and Colin had a lovely chat. She apologised and said she couldn’t help supporting the husband she loves so much. And Colin told her that Usyk was a lucky man.Now I realise that was our last time together, it feels like a really nice one.Early on in our careers, things were definitely not as cosy.READ SOME HART CLASSICSBecause I came over to the UK from Canada, with my Olympic win, Colin didn’t take to me.It seemed like he was a proud Englishman, proud of his country and its fighters, so I felt he picked against me, especially when I boxed a guy he felt was more British than me.I remember he picked Gary Mason and Frank Bruno to beat me, even though all of the other reporters were in my corner.But it ended up being a great inspiration to me, because he was respected, I took his doubts about me and used them as fuel.Most read in BoxingWhen I proved him wrong I would look out for him in the front row and press seats and try to catch his eye.I loved proving him wrong and I could see he felt that too.COLIN HART: 50th anniversary of Joe Bugner’s first fight with Muhammad Ali, at the Las Vegas Convention Center in 1973It was a good healthy professional relationship, where he had questions about me and I was eager to answer them.Eventually he did realise that I was the real deal, I answered all of his questions and I cured all of his doubts.He admitted he had got me wrong and I respected that, that’s how things should work between men.It was clear that he was revered among all the other reporters, he was clearly the leader of the boxing press pack.I don’t think anyone else ever started off a press conference or an interview ahead of Colin.The other reporters waited for him to lead and sometimes he would get about 10 questions off before anyone else dared ask some.Colin Hart was leader of the press packCredit: News Group Newspapers Ltd’The Voice of Boxing’ joined The Sun in 1969Credit: News Group Newspapers LtdI even remember a couple of times when he finished his list of questions, closed up his notepad, tucked away his pen and walked off, just when the other writers were getting the chance to start their questions!He was that confident in his research and questions that he didn’t need to hang around and listen to the leftovers, he was off to write his words.I noticed it around my era but it’s even more prevalent recently, some reporters seem afraid to ask the real questions, or push for the truth, because the fighter or promoter or manager might get angry or cancel their accreditation.There doesn’t seem to be the same desire to get to the real truth anymore.Fighters and their achievements are often way overblown or their failings and mistakes are ignored and glossed over.From my years working with Colin, I could never accuse him of that.I think he would like to know that.I knew that he wanted to get to the truth and tell the truth and – if he upset people along the way – so be it.READ MORE SUN STORIESIt looks like it’s sometimes hard to have a good name in journalism, to be trusted, but I felt like Colin had that.His longevity made him an icon in British boxing but I think the fact that his name and his word was respected probably meant much to him.Sporting world pays tribute…THE sporting world has paid emotional tributes to The Sun’s legendary Voice of Boxing.Ricky Hatton said: “I am so sad to hear of the passing of Colin Hart. Colin followed my career from the start all the way through to the big fights in Vegas. Colin is one of the last great boxing journalists and he will be sadly missed. RIP old mate.”Michael Buffer said: “I was honoured to know the legendary Boxing Hall of Fame journalist, Colin Hart, for almost all of my career in the sport. His writings and passion for boxing are universally recognised as among the best ever.”Joe Calzaghe said: “Colin was a real giant of boxing writers and there will never be another like him. He will be sorely missed and my deepest condolences go to his family, friends and colleagues.”Read more tributes including from Lennox Lewis and Frank Bruno. More

THE first time we met was in the stairwell at The Sun’s former HQ in Wapping, where the smokers would congregate.Colin Hart was an ex-smoker, allowing himself a few passive fumes, chewing a matchstick in place of a cigarette, having recently recovered from throat cancer.Colin Hart was The Sun’s ‘Voice of Boxing’Credit: News Group Newspapers LtdHart poses with Chris Eubank in 1990Credit: News Group Newspapers LtdThe Sun’s boxing man chats with Mike Tyson in 1987Credit: Times Newspapers LtdSmoking was bad for your health. Especially when Harty angered one particular interviewee by lighting up as they spoke.That man was George Foreman, the heavyweight champion of the world, who asked him to extinguish his cigarette.When Harty demanded that he should ‘say please’, Foreman threatened to punch him. A PR man saved him from a good hiding. But Foreman, like so many other greats, would end up becoming a good friend of Colin.Harty spoke out of the opposite side of his mouth to the matchstick. He spoke in his native Cockney. And once you got to know him, he’d speak about decades of rich sporting history.READ SOME HART CLASSICSHe spoke of Muhammad Ali and the Rumble in the Jungle, of Sugar Ray Leonard and the ‘Four Kings’ of the middleweight division.He spoke of Ben Johnson’s failed drugs test in Seoul and the massacre of 13 Israeli athletes by Palestinian terrorists in Munich, as well as many lighter tales from the eight Olympic Games he’d covered.According to his former colleague Alex Montgomery, he was ‘the only East End Jewish boy I ever knew who had a love of showjumping’.Harty spoke of giving as good as he got to some of the most charismatic and egotistical men in the world. Of the thrill of chasing a tale or an interview. Of the glorious chaos which exists when a major story breaks, at some ungodly hour, in some far flung part of the globe.Most read in BoxingAnd when he spoke, you listened. And if, like me, you grew up loving sport and history and newspapers, you always wanted to ask him more.Harty was cussed at first but soon he became warm and generous and funny and utterly authoritative.COLIN HART: 50th anniversary of Joe Bugner’s first fight with Muhammad Ali, at the Las Vegas Convention Center in 1973Our first meeting was more than a quarter of a century ago, and it was 30 years after Harty had taken up the role of boxing and athletics correspondent on The Sun’s very first day back in 1969 – an association which would last for 56 years.He ‘retired’ when he turned 65 in 2000. Yet he carried on writing columns for this newspaper for another 25 years, right up until his death, and he continued to attend countless world title fights.Immediately after the many major fights I’ve covered, I’ve sought out Harty and asked for his expert view and often for some historical context.He was a great help to me, as he had been to The Sun’s only three previous Chief Sports Writers; Peter Batt, John Sadler and Steven Howard.With a good-natured sneer, Harty would call us ‘the instant experts’, who’d parachute in to cover the biggest stories, using the genuine expertise of Harty and his fellow specialists to make ourselves look good.Hart carries the Olympic Torch in 2012Credit: Simon Jones – News Group NewspapersThe iconic boxing writer poses alongside Muhammad Ali Jr, Michael Watson and John ContehCredit: RexHart chats with Lennox Lewis in 1999Credit: News Group Newspapers LtdLike few other major sporting events, the excitement of covering a world-class prize fight can make your head spin. The benefit of Harty’s wisdom and experience was always valued.In 2017, after Anthony Joshua had knocked out Wladimir Klitschko in an epic fight at Wembley, he told me the bout ranked in the top ten he had witnessed.Given that he had covered all of the fights between Ali, Foreman and Smokin’ Joe Frazier, as well as those between Leonard and Marvelous Marvin Hagler and Tommy ‘The Hitman’ Hearns and Roberto Duran, this was a relief, because I worried I’d over-egged it while filing copy ‘live’. Still, I must have been too gushing in my praise of Joshua because the next time we met, Harty gave me a gentle verbal cuffing and told me that Tyson Fury was better than Joshua. And he was right.The last time we met was in Riyadh last year, when Oleksandr Usyk had inflicted Fury’s first professional defeat, as Harty had predicted he would.Promoter Frank Warren had flown Harty over and put him up in accommodation far grander than anything granted to today’s working hacks, which delighted him.Hart covered Frank Warren’s fighters for several decadesCredit: News Group Newspapers LtdThe influential writer was on The Sun’s first sports desk in 1969Credit: News Group Newspapers LtdHart, left, speaks to George Foreman in Kinshasa ahead of the Rumble in the JungleCredit: GettyFor two decades or so, we shared a running private joke.“When are you going to write that book?” I’d ask him.“Who’d wanna read that?” he’d reply.Yet any fan would want to read the definitive account of one of sportswriting’s greatest careers.A couple of years ago, he did write that book, at least one covering the boxing part of his career. With the help of fellow journalist Brian Doogan, he wrote ‘The Voice of Boxing: 60 Years At Ringside’.But in these pages, he continued to write several books’ worth of great reminiscences, as well as razor-sharp analysis of the current fight game.That book tells it all about a Londoner who experienced the Blitz as a young child and who would end up ringside with Frank Sinatra at the ‘Fight of the Century’ between Ali and Frazier.While Harty was a boxing aficionado, with a deep well of experience and knowledge about the sweet science, he fully understood the brutality of the game and the controversy over its very existence.After covering the death of the popular 24-year-old Welsh bantamweight Johnny Owen, inside a Los Angeles ring in 1980, he wanted to quit covering boxing, only to be talked round by colleagues.Later he would witness the fearful beatings inflicted upon Michael Watson and Gerald McClellan, which caused life-changing injuries.Harty held immense respect for those brave enough to step inside the ring and while he might criticise a performance, he never doubted a boxer’s courage. On the day when Harty first entered The Sun’s newsroom in 1969, he offered to help a bloke with an Aussie accent who was shifting furniture around, only to find out the ‘removals man’ was Rupert Murdoch.For five and a half decades, he was this newspaper’s ‘voice of boxing’ and plenty more besides.By the time of his death, just days before his 90th birthday, he would be the last serving member of the sports desk’s original staff.Colin’s death is a chance to reflect on a golden age for boxing, for newspapers and for all sport.While Colin was a match-going West Ham supporter for more than 80 years, and would frequently advise us football writers from his seat near the old Upton Park press box, he never covered football professionally.So rich was the sporting landscape, before the advent of the Premier League dwarfed the popularity of all other sports, that he didn’t need to.  And his love for ‘them ‘Ammers’ – and ‘what about them ‘Ammers, eh, Col?’ – remained unsullied by professional cynicism as a result.Colin was a great reporter, wordsmith, story-getter and story-teller.  READ MORE SUN STORIESAnd there was one piece of his advice that came to mind today, as I recall the pleasure of having known him for more than 25 years. “Always be kind to the young kids coming up in this industry,” he told me, “you never know who they’ll get to write your bleeding obituary.”Sporting world pays tribute…THE sporting world has paid emotional tributes to The Sun’s legendary Voice of Boxing.Ricky Hatton said: “I am so sad to hear of the passing of Colin Hart. Colin followed my career from the start all the way through to the big fights in Vegas. Colin is one of the last great boxing journalists and he will be sadly missed. RIP old mate.”Michael Buffer said: “I was honoured to know the legendary Boxing Hall of Fame journalist, Colin Hart, for almost all of my career in the sport. His writings and passion for boxing are universally recognised as among the best ever.”Joe Calzaghe said: “Colin was a real giant of boxing writers and there will never be another like him. He will be sorely missed and my deepest condolences go to his family, friends and colleagues.”Read more tributes including from Lennox Lewis and Frank Bruno. More