Wellington boxing legend Wally Carr has passed away after a battle with cancer, according to those close to him.
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Carr, a Wiradjuri man who was born and raised in Wellington, held twelve titles across six different divisions across his 15 year career as a boxer.
'Wait-awhile-Wal' as he was known, earned 53 wins in his time in the ring, with 27 of those wins coming by knockout.
Carr's fighting career spanned 13 different weight classes and over a 100 bouts, fighting as far as Zambia and Korea and as close to home as Wellington and Dubbo.
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Terry Fox, who squared off with Carr at Victoria Park in Dubbo in 1979, remembered Carr as a 'class act' who was filled with laughter when they spoke recently.
"I hadn't spoken to him for a long period of time, he was happy. He praised me after the fights as well, he said 'I hit you with everything and I couldn't put you down'," Mr Fox said.
Fox also praised Carr's ability inside the ring, citing him as one of the best fighters to ever come out of Australia and holding him in as high esteem as the Mundines.
Wally Carr's one of the best fighters to ever come out of Australia.
- Terry Fox
"He and the Mundines are in the same sort of category, I think. I know them all fairly well," Mr Fox said.
"He would be one of the best to come out of Australia. I don't say that because I fought him, I say that because he was one of the best in Australia, they offered me the second fight with him and I had to take it, he was one of the best."
Carr was selected as the inductee into the 2010 Australian National Boxing Hall of Fame Moderns category in recognition of his achievements.
As much a titan outside the ring as in, Carr's life was lined with struggles to overcome that were chronicled in his biography My Longest Round and served as inspiration for Carr's grandson, Melbourne Storm winger Josh Addo-Carr.
Anthony Mundine and Joe Williams both praised Carr on social media, with Mundine expressing his 'deepest condolences' while Williams called Carr 'a brilliant man, not recognised enough'.
Other commentators who recognised Carr from his travels near Sydney, where he was a community leader and frequent speaker, offered their own praise and stories.
"I knew Wally all my life and always marvelled at his incredible accomplishments," one said.
"A true champion and all around great man," said another.
"Australian boxing has lost a piece of it's royalty overnight," Boxing manager Matt Clarke said.
