Final Curtain: John Conteh's last fight v v James Dixon, Liverpool 1980

"WE IN this sport, including people like Muhammad Ali, can intuitively tell when someone loves boxing – and he was steeped in it. There was always constructive, not destructive, criticism from him."

Just one of the many tributes which flowed in last week following the death of legendary BBC boxing commentator Harry Carpenter. This one came from John Conteh, one of the British boxers who become synonymous with Carpenter, whose commentaries were the backdrop to the charismatic Liverpudlian's eventful career.

Born in 1951 in the tough area of Toxteth, Conteh was one of the best boxers Britain has produced and went on to become world light-heavyweight champion. At his peak in the mid to late 1970s he was considered good enough to be touted as a possible opponent of Ali.

With good looks and a larger than life personality, Conteh's fame soon spread out from the sports pages and, thanks to his love of wine, women and song he was a tabloid favourite throughout the decade. In 1973, Conteh was one of the celebrities featured dressed in prison gear on the cover of the Wings album Band On The Run and a year later he won the popular BBC Superstars crown.

At 19, Conteh won the middleweight gold medal at the 1970 Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh. After turning pro he progressed to the heavyweight ranks and fought on a couple of Ali undercards. Conteh claimed it was Ali who convinced him to drop to light heavyweight. "I think he was scared of me," he joked.

Conteh would box in a total of seven world title bouts, winning four, and achieved his dream of becoming world champion by beating Argentine Jorge Ahumada at Wembley in October 1974 through a hard-fought split decision. He held the title until 1978 when he was stripped for not going through with a mandatory defence. He lost on points to Croatian Mate Parlov in an attempt to regain the title and lost his last two major fights to American Matthew Saad Muhammad, before going out a winner, with a fifth-round KO over American journeyman James Dixon, in a match fittingly fought before his hometown fans in Liverpool. After retiring, Conteh overcame alcoholism and is now a regular on the after-dinner circuit.