A FORMER England boxing coach and founder of the Peers Youth Amateur Boxing Club has died, aged 68.

Dave Richards, from Blackbird Leys, passed away on Tuesday, March 8, after a short battle with lung cancer.

He trained the amateur England boxing team in the mid 1970s, coaching icons like Alan Minter, Herol Graham, John Conteh and Charlie Magri.

All went on to win world titles as professional boxers.

Son Gary said: “Boxing was his biggest passion in life other than his family.

“To my mind, he was an unsung hero. He didn’t like the limelight but he took various teams around the world to competitions like the Olympic games. At one point he was going to be the England senior coach, but he didn’t have a formal education.”

Coaches at that time needed a degree to take on the role.

Along with brother ‘Red’, Mr Richards was also one of the founding members of the Peers Youth ABC in the late 1970s, at the Peers School, now The Oxford Academy in Littlemore.

Mr Richards coached until the early 1980s and left his mark on the club, which continued to flourish and changed its name to the Oxford ABC.

He ran a taxi company and later worked at the Cowley BMW factory, retiring at 65.

His son said: “He was very family orientated, family meant a lot to him.

“He cherished the simple things in life, wouldn’t grab the limelight, but was just a fun bubbly character. When he walked into a room, his aura would light up the whole room.”

And after he retired, Mr Richards popped his head around the door at the boxing club in Blackbird Leys and asked if he could “help out”.

Head coach Tony Gibson, who Dave coached to a Home Counties title in 1980, welcomed him to the club.

Mr Richards leaves wife Gwen, son Gary and daughter Julie. He also had two grandsons, Ryan and Ross.

He was cremated yesterday at Headington Crematorium.