Bermuda?s sole Olympic medallist Clarence Hill was among those who paid tribute yesterday to former amateur super middleweight boxer Ray Smith.

The eldest brother of current national team cricket captain Clay Smith and former national team player Wendell Smith, Ray lost a long battle with illness on Sunday, aged 49.

During the 1970s, Hill and Smith became good friends.

Hill eventually moved into the pro ranks while Smith continued to make a name for himself fighting as an amateur.

The son of former St.George?s Cricket Club president and founding member of Wellington Rovers Football Club and Bermuda Table Tennis Association, Mansfield (Bojangles) Smith, Ray also dabbled in rugby, cricket and football before re-focusing his energies on a career in academics.

He was deputy principal at Dellwood Middle School.

?Ray was a good person and a good fighter from St.George?s. He travelled with us (Pembroke Youth Club) to Canada on a few tours. He was a very hard trainer,? recalled local Hall of Famer Hill.

?It (Smith?s passing) came as a surprise to me because I didn?t even know he was sick. But we were very good friends and those were some good old days.?

Hill noted that Smith possessed enormous potential, but never harboured any desire to join the pro ranks.

?I don?t think he really wanted to go on. Ray was more of a sportsman rather than a professional,? he added.

?Obviously he will be sadly missed by his family and friends and also by me because he was a good friend of mine and we go a long way back, along with his father Bojangles and his brothers Clay and Wendell.?

Respected local boxing trainer and promoter Allen (Forty) Rego also had fond memories of the late Smith.

?He fought out of St.George?s (St.George?s Youth Centre) and then came to the youth centre (Pembroke Youth Centre) to fight. He also fought a couple of times around at BAA gymnasium,? Rego told .

?He was a very energetic fellow who gave everything that he had. And he was quite successful in the way he fought, and I don?t think many fighters can fight the way he fought because he just had too much energy.

?But Ray was also a nice person to be around and always prepared to try anything.?

Smith was also handy with the cricket bat at St.George?s where he captained the club?s Under-15 team.

?Ray was my captain when I was playing with St.George?s? youth cricket team and we also attended East End Primary School together,? commented sub editor and sports writer Lawrence Trott.

Like sibling Wendell, the first local batsman to score 1,000 runs in Cup Match, Ray was also a left-handed opening bat.

?Personally I thought Ray had more potential as a cricketer. But he ultimately chose boxing as his number one sport,? Trott added.

?It?s very sad to see Ray go and he will be sadly missed by all those who knew him. My condolences go out to his family and many friends.?

St.George?s Cricket Club Cup Match selection committee chairman Ritchie Foggo said: ?Ray was a very good man who always stuck up for his brothers.

?Ray, Twilton (Smith) and myself were always together during our younger days when we used to do a lot of fishing and also play cricket and football together.?

Ray captained St.George?s to a memorable Colts? Cup Match triumph after dismissing rivals Somerset for a paltry 25 runs at Wellington Oval.

?Ray and I hung out a lot together before we both got married and then he went into the church,? Foggo added.