Famed Boxing Trainer Angelo Dundee Remembered at Clearwater Service

Some of the biggest names in the world of boxing gathered in Clearwater to celebrate a man who helped mold greatness.

Famed boxing trainer and Palm Harbor resident Angelo Dundee, known simply as "Angie" to his brethren in boxing, was laid to rest Friday following a ceremony at the Countryside Christian Center. Family members joined many other mourners and were carefully shielded from the media throughout the day.

Almost 1,500 mourners attended the services, the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office estimated. Dundee, 90, passed away Feb. 1.

Family members and well-wishers remembered Dundee for his countless acts of kindness, his easy demeanor and how he helped change the boxing world.

“He taught me how to relax,” said former WBC heavyweight champion Pinklon Thomas, a pupil of Dundee.

While Dundee helped countless boxers hone their craft through the decades (his first champion was Carmen Basilio in the 1950's) it was his association with the man simply known globally as "The Greatest," Muhammad Ali that catapulted Dundee to household fame.

"Every time you saw a picture of Ali, there was Angie," famed boxing promoter Bob Arum said.

Ali himself attended the services, whisked secretly in and out of the church away from the staring eyes of onlookers. Leonard, however, was not expected to attend Friday’s services.

It was Dundee, the boxing celebrities said, who was responsible for molding Ali and pushing Ali into the international star he became, largely thought to be the world's most famous athlete.

It was Dundee, Ali’s former business manager Gene Kilroy said, who taught the champ humility, kindness and how to develop relationships with the press which vaulted Ali's public but misleading volatile persona throughout the globe.

"One day Ali was walking through New York (to a promotional event for a fight) and he saw this (street person) and Ali gave him a $20 bill," recalled former boxing referee and Florida Boxing Hall of Fame inductee Brian Garry. "I said, 'Champ, what are you doing? He's just hustling you.' And Ali said, 'He looked like he needed the money.'"

It was acts of kindness such as that which Ali learned from Dundee, Garry said.

"Everybody was his friend," Dundee's son Jimmy said of his father’s generosity. "He immersed himself into (local charities). Mom was the enforcer otherwise he’d give the house away - I think he did twice."

"He always said, 'It costs nothing to be nice.’”

Person after person regaled listeners with the many acts of kindness Dundee offered over his life and how no person was ever too small or ordinary for his time.

Added Kilroy, Dundee “had time for everybody. Boxing lost a great man. He was the epitome of class.”

Dundee was at his sharpest when in the corner of his many boxers, as Ali recalled to the New York Times in 1981, “You come back to the corner and he’ll say, ‘The guy’s open for a hook,’ or this or that. ” If he tells you something during a fight, you can believe it. As a cornerman, Angelo is the best in the world."

“Angelo kept boxing alive,” Kilroy said. “As long as we have boxing on this Earth, we will see Angelo Dundee.”

Garry mentioned with a devilish grin how Dundee was skilled in finding ways to stall for time between rounds when his boxer needed a few extra breaths.

"I didn't mind it because that was his job," Garry said. "He was always working the referees. I had no problem with him. That was his job and I knew it."

When Ali professed his faith as a Muslim at the height of the Vietnam War, the announcement sparked a heated firestorm with many World War II veterans claiming Ali was brazenly hiding behind a newfound faith to avoid being drafted into military service.

Dundee, himself a veteran of World War II, displayed his humility and loyalty by sticking with Ali and waving off the protests, stating a man's religion is a private matter and of no business to anyone.

It was this move, more than anything, Garry said, that bonded both Dundee and Ali for a lifetime.

Jimmy Dundee remembered how his father was such a rabid baseball fan, adored the Tampa Bay Rays and the team’s manager, Joe Maddon. He counted New York Yankees owner Hank Steinbrenner as a close friend.

The sea of condolences Jimmy Dundee and his family received from well-wishers – he said he received calls from around the world – has nearly taken the family aback.

“Everybody reached out,” Jimmy Dundee said. “The outpouring has been wonderful. I’m a little bit overwhelmed.”