The death of Cayman’s ‘father of boxing,’ Dalmain Ebanks has brought glowing tributes from the fight fraternity.
‘He was like a father to me and all of us in the gym,’ Cayman’s top boxer Charles Whittaker told the Caymanian Compass.
It was Dalmain who, as Whittaker’s first trainer, encouraged the then teenager in the tough sport at which he has since excelled to the point of becoming a top pro.
And it was boxing guru Dalmain who recognised Whittaker’s potential to get to the top and encouraged him to work hard to get there.
‘When he first started working with me people said he was wasting his time with me,’ said Whittaker.
‘I used to give him some problems but he recognised that I had something and he had the patience to deal with me,’ he said.
‘He was an exemplary man, a man among men. He was as deep as he was tall,’ said Whittaker.
‘He was loved by all. You never heard people say bad things about him. He was a good man,’ he said.
‘He had the ability to defuse a situation. He had the heart and mind to build good things,’ Whittaker told the Compass.
‘We learned lessons from being around him and will pass those on to our children. His legacy will live on,’ he said.
‘If he was something you could put in a store and sell, you could not put a price on him,’ said Whittaaker.
‘We are all saddened by his passing but we recognise his legacy will live on.’
‘We are all blessed to have known him and be around him,’ said Whittaker
‘We are all blessed to have lived life during his times.,’ he said.
‘He has left a lasting legacy for this country,’ he added.
Dalmain, who learned his own boxing skills while serving in the Royal Navy, later started the Cayman Islands Amateur Boxing Association.
And in that association, Dalmain – who went on to train Cayman’s boxers for the Olympics and other major games – was helped for a time by son Mitchell Exctain.
Mitchell said he felt his father would be sorely missed by the boxing fraternity and particularly by all the Caymanians who knew him through it in a very personal way.
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