Ray Close: Belfast boxing legend dies aged 57

Ledley Hall Youth and Boxing Club in east Belfast, the place Close began his boxing journey as a 10-year-old, led tributes and mentioned he was a “true gentleman, humble, sort and all the time keen to offer one thing again”.

“To our younger folks, Ray was proof of what may very well be achieved,” the membership posted on Facebook.

“He was somebody who had come by means of the identical doorways, skilled in the identical membership and gone on to perform unimaginable issues.”

The membership added that Close’s story has “impressed generations of younger folks at Ledley Hall and can proceed to take action”.

“There are some individuals who grow to be a part of the historical past and coronary heart of a spot, and Ray will all the time be a part of ours.

“We will keep in mind him with monumental delight, affection and gratitude.”

Bangor Abbey Boxing Academy, the place Close had skilled, mentioned he will probably be a “enormous loss to the boxing fraternity of Ireland and throughout the globe”.

“Ray and his entire household have been an enormous a part of our membership over time, proper from the very begin and we’re really devastated.”