(TRINIDAD EXPRESS) – Former Trinidad and Tobago professional boxer, Claude Noel, has died.
His relatives confirmed that Noel, aged 74, passed away at the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex on Sunday.
The cause of death is not immediately known.
Last month, a video of the country’s first world title boxing champion dragging on the floor and screaming for help was posted to social media.
In the two-minute, 54-second video, Noel, who is an amputee was heard calling for his stick.
His relatives responded, however, saying the video was taken by Noel’s caregiver one year ago at his Malabar home, to send to his wife and family abroad.
The Ministry of Social Development and Family Services intervened stating that Noel was a beneficiary of its Special Achievers’ Grant and had been one for a number of years. The ministry said Noel was also a recipient of the Senior Citizens’ Pension.
The ministry also reached out to Noel’s relatives to further assist him.
In 1982 Noel received the Chaconia Gold Medal and the Claude Noel Highway in Tobago was named after him. Noel became the country’s first lightweight world titleholder when he defeated Mexican Rodolfo Gonzalez in 1981.
