'Mel Corrigan was a larger-than-life character' – says Thames Valley ABC

The amateur boxing world recently lost an outstanding man – Mel Corrigan. Mel was head coach of Berinsfield Amateur Boxing Club but he had always been an inspirational coach towards Thames Valley ABC.

Mel had many roles with the England Boxing and Home Counties Amateur Boxing Associations. He was not only a coach, he was a major England judge and the medical registrar for the Home Counties. He was a popular and well respected member of the boxing community.

Thames Valley ABC had worked with Mel for more than 25 years.

He had helped Paul Cooke bring on many of his past and present boxers – Marley Churcher, Sonny Jury, Danny Ward, Chris Haines and more recently Aaron and Ashton Duncan.

He was always a great support himself and with his coaches and boxers at our club shows, where the contests were always entertaining for the spectators and you could always guarantee a great evening.

Paul Cooke always remembers Mel saying that he taught TVABC boxers the screw shot, but Paul always said that he taught them the cork screw shot which are actually the same shot but they had their own names for them.

Mel was a larger-than-life character and would always light up a room when he entered.

He was one of life's good guys and was always there at the end of the phone if any club needed any help, no matter what time of day or night.

Paul said that he had nicknamed him Midnight Mel, because of the time of night that he would call him with a result of one of his boxers.

He will be greatly missed by all of Thames Valley's boxers, and coaches. Paul said that he still waits for his call every day to have a catch up about boxing or just life in general.

Paul said: "Mel may be gone but he will always live on within our club, the way his boxers fought on their front foot."