The boxing fraternity has been plunged into mourning following the untimely passing of former welterweight boxing champion Walter Peters. He was 74 years old.
He died last Tuesday following a fall in his bathroom on August 5 that left him paralysed, according to his daughter Jinelle Peters.
"He had a bad fall that injured his spine, and a few days after he died," she said.
A Grenadian by birth, Peters made the trek to T&T at the age of nine and quickly carved out a niche for himself using his talent. He was described by Michael Paul, who himself was a former national boxing champion, as a really nice person, someone who you can talk to and confide in.
"One thing about Peters also is that he had the sport of boxing at heart," Paul said.
As a boxer, he was mean in the ring, despite his quiet persona. "He was aggressive. When that bell rang to commence his fight, he would constantly come at you, so if you couldn't handle it, you would have been either beaten on points or by knock out," Paul said.
Peters became the country's welterweight champion in 1968. Boxing was the one thing he was very good at, as he only got his T&T citizenship when he walked on to the T&T team as a pugilist. He mastered the art of boxing, having trained and boxed in Europe for about two years, and he boxed outside of T&T for many years afterwards.
Even when he retired from the sport, Peters continued to provide yeoman's service through community outreach programmes at the Youth Training Centre (YTC) for boys, the St Mary's Children's Home in Tacarigua, the St Michael's Home for Boys in Diego Martin, as well as the Circle-S Boxing Gym in Morvant, Laventille.
Peters was also a member of the T&T Boxing Board in the early 1990s, following which he was also open and willing to give advice on the sport, as well as advice on life.
Peters' funeral will be held on Thursday from 12.30 pm at the Lady of Fatima RC Church on Bushe Street, Curepe.
