Without a doubt Tom O’Connor fell into that category; a legend of a man whose passion for his sport of boxing was infectious. Infectious enough that I, too, found myself drawn to boxing.
Sadly, O’Connor died last week after battling an illness.
The news startled me.
Those regular lengthy calls — which started by gathering some Southland boxing results, moved to what Joseph Parker was up to, and then simply drifted to life in general — have come to an end.
It is hard to do the impact O’Connor has had on boxing justice in a few hundred words.
But here goes.
O’Connor’s association with boxing stretched back to 1949.
He held many administrative roles which have included judging bouts and selecting teams.
He has held many roles with the New Zealand Boxing Association, including as president.
The hard-working administrator’s achievements were recognised both in his home province and nationally.
Tom was also awarded life memberships to the Southland Boxing Association and New Zealand Boxing Association.
In 1998, he was awarded the Celebration of Southland Medallion for his services to boxing, and the same year he was acknowledged with a Services to Sport award at the Southland Sports Awards.
In 2010, O’Connor was awarded the highest award in New Zealand Boxing, the Brian O’Brien Trophy, for services to boxing.
His passion and involvement with boxing burned through to his last breath.
In fact, just six days before he died, Tom requested a meeting of the Southland Boxing Association executive.
Boxing has had its troubles.
There’s been in-fighting at administration level, portions of the public just outright don’t like the nature of the sport, and it has been a constant battle just keeping the sport running — both financially and with participation numbers.
But O’Connor never gave up the fight for boxing; his love for the sport never wavered.
His delight was obvious when he phoned me to share the success of a young Southland boxer at whatever tournament he or she was competing in.
In 2015, there was a situation which hovered the spotlight over the extent of his passion and drive for boxing.
There were few people and organisations putting their hand up to host the national championships that year.
At one point there was doubt as to whether the national event would go ahead.
O’Connor wasn’t having any of that. The then 80-year-old rolled up his sleeves and pulled together the required funding and Invercargill’s ILT Stadium Southland delivered a spectacular event.
As a result, in 2016 he was named the administrator of the year at the Southland Sports Awards.
O’Connor’s death has left an obvious hole within the boxing community, but his legacy will live on.
He was a humble and dedicated man, and we can all learn a thing or two from the way he conducted himself.
