Northern Territory boxing great Boyd Scully passed away on the weekend aged 77, his family has confirmed.
Mr Scully had a long, successful career – first as a boxer, then as a trainer and administrator. Last year, he was diagnosed with lung cancer.
Daughter Marise Scully says the family has been inundated with calls from Boyd’s former boxing students.
“He was a very driven person, inspiring … Once he had set his mind on something, there was nothing that was going to stop him from achieving that,” Ms Scully tells NITV News.
“He had a hard childhood, and I think he always set goals that were not really achievable from where he came from. But he always achieved them anyway.”
Source: Provided by Marise Scully
Boyd Scully was a gifted sportsman from a young age. He won the Queensland paperweight title aged 14, then the NSW junior welterweight at 21. He came close to representing Australia at the 1956 Olympic Games in Melbourne.
The passion for the sport never left him, Marise says.
“He was still on his oxygen two months ago, going to training, trying to help.”
“The doctors … couldn’t believe how strong he was.”
Mr Scully was the first Indigenous person to receive a life membership from Boxing Australia, and was inducted into the Queensland Boxing Hall of Fame in 2013.
He was the president of Boxing NT for more than a decade, and ran the Arafura Games boxing tournament for 18 years.
He had a reputation for bringing young kids off the street and into the gym.
Boyd Scully with his boxing students Source: Provided by Marise Scully
Marise also remembers him taking trips out to remote communities to teach boxing.
“Health, fitness … I think that was the main reason for those types of programs out there. There is an alternative to sitting out here drinking alcohol and doing drugs.”
Marise says her father taught her the importance of direction and motivation.
“Set yourself a goal, be determined and pursue it until you get it. And don’t let anyone stand in your way. I don’t think he did.”
