A straight shooter with a golden heart

Boxing promoter Nick Durandt’s death in a crash leaves his community in shock, writes SAMEER NAIK

THERE is an empty spot where Nick Durandt used to sit and sip his morning coffee outside his tattoo parlour. He did this every morning since retiring as a boxing trainer last year.

Now that same spot, at the entrance to Durandt’s Ink in Grant Avenue, Norwood is adorned with flowers, candles, a large poster and moving tributes to the man people here refer to as a “straight shooter with a heart of gold”.

Durandt died tragically and unexpectedly in a bike crash just outside Clarens last Friday. Hundreds of mourners paid their last respects to the boxing legend at his funeral at the Maronite Catholic Church in the south of Johannesburg yesterday.

“I’m still waiting for his motorbike to come down the road,” said a tearful Conrad Cornelissen, a tattoo artist at Durandt’s Ink.

“For us it’s been very hard to deal with because he was here one day, and the next day he was gone.”

Cornelissen has been battling to come to terms with the loss of his friend.

“I started at Durandt’s Ink two years ago. I pitched up here with a black bag and not much hope and Nick gave me a place to work,” he said.

“Now I am an established artist, I own a motorbike and I’ve got a family with the Crusaders Bike Club (Durandt was its president).

“He was one of the most remarkable, generous men I have come across in my life.”

Whenever Durandt was around, the tattoo parlour would always be filled with laughter and happiness, according to Cornelissen.

“He had a great sense of humour. As soon as Nick would walk in here he would greet us by calling us c***s just to get our day started.”

Cornelissen said he would never forget the first time he had met Durandt. “I nearly s*** my pants”. “I came in for a job interview. Nick took me to the back and asked me if I knew who he was, and I told him, ‘yes I do’.

“He said to me, ‘listen here you mother f***** , if you ever steal or lie to me I’ll put a f****** bullet in you, now go get busy’. That was basically my interview. That is just who he was, a straight shooter.”

The last time he spoke to his boss was on the morning of his death.

“He called me on Friday to ask how my day had been and told me that he would be seeing me the next day. He was coming all the way from the Free State to see me get my full patch as a member of the Crusaders. But that was the last time I spoke to him.”

Cornelissen said he had become very close to the Durandt family.

“We had a heart-to-heart conversation in December. Nick told me that he wanted me to love his sons Damien and Storm the way that I had loved him. I made a promise that day that I would always look after his boys no matter what happened.”

Across the road from Durandt’s Ink is a big black banner that hangs from the second floor of the Fight Sports Centre. It used to be the late boxer’s own boxing gym.

“You’re loved. You’re missed. You’re remembered,” reads the words beneath the picture of Durandt’s face.

Brandon Katz, the owner of Fight Sports Centre, can’t hold back his tears when asked about his friend.

“I met Nick a couple of years ago. I had no gym to train at or no money. He welcomed me with open arms and allowed me to train here for as long as I wanted,” said Katz.

“A few months later I managed to secure my first fight, which I ended up winning and landed up with some money. I went straight to Nick and handed him a cheque for the money that I had owed him. He handed the cheque straight back to me and said use the money for your newborn daughter. He was just that kind of guy,” said Katz.

Katz, a mixed martial arts fighter was fortunate enough to train under Durandt for a few years.

“I had been training with a number of boxers before I trained with Nick. I was fairly experienced and tough so I thought I would manage. I actually got killed in the ring.

“Within two years I went from being an ordinary boxer to a more skilful and talented one – and I owe it all to him.”

Durandt wrote his name indelibly in the annals of South African boxing by producing more champions than any other trainer in the country in a career spanning many years.

Katz said Durandt was one of the most remarkable boxing trainers in the world.

“People always talk about how Nick is the best trainer in South Africa. He is actually one of the best trainers in the world. Manny Pacquiao’s trainer has produced 28 world champions, Nick Durandt has produced 38 champions. He was amazing.”

These days, Katz occupies Durandt’s old office at the Fight Sports Centre. He admits it’s been a battle coming to work every day since his death.

“I’m having a hard time walking into that office,” said an emotional Katz.

Further down Grant Avenue sits The Usual on Grant coffee shop. Its owners have now dedicated one of its hot drinks to Durandt – the Nickacino.

Thandi Linda, a waitress here, said: “I don’t want to lie, first I was shocked, I thought it was a joke, because people like to joke about things. Nick was here on Thursday for two hours. If you see someone the day before and then following day he is no longer, it is a huge shock. I went completely cold when we found out that the news was true.”

Another employee, Zama Ndebele, said, “It’s very sad because Nick was such a good guy.”