Sports Minister Olivia Grange has offered condolences to the family of former Jamaican boxer George ‘Bunny’ Grant, who died on Thursday.
Grant, who turned 78 in September, was Jamaica’s most notable boxer across three decades, beginning in the 1950s.
The boxer, had been released from hospital on Tuesday of this week after suffering a second stroke. He had lost his sight five months earlier.
Grange said she can remember how much of a trailblazer Grant, who ended his 19-year career with a ring record of 52 wins, 15 losses and five draws, was.
“Long before Lennox Lewis, before Mike McCallum, before Shrimpy Clarke, there was Bunny Grant,” Minister Grange said.
“We will forever remember his victory over Dave Charnley, the Commonwealth Lightweight Champion, at the National Stadium on August 4, 1962 — just two days before Jamaica’s Independence Day. The happy impact of that victory on the entire country is a feeling I can never forget,” the minister recalled.
In October 2017, Grange presented Grant with the keys to his newly refurbished home.
The refurbishing project was undertaken by the Sports Development Foundation as part of the Jamaica 55 celebrations.
Grange said she was proud to have been able to help the “great champion” sleep more comfortable in his last year of life.
President of the Jamaica Boxing Board of Control, Stephen ‘Bomber’ Jones was also distraught at the boxer’s passing, saying though, that his name will live forever.
