Goodbye to a second brother for boxing champ Mccrory

IT is the funeral today of Shaun Mccrory, younger brother of Tyneside’s only world champion Glenn Mccrory.

Shaun died after a short illness aged only 52 and will be laid to rest in the Mccrory family’s home town of Annfield Plain. He leaves a wife Claire and three children.

The Mccrorys are a North East boxing dynasty, of course – there were three fighting brothers, Glenn, Shaun and Gary, who faced world-ranked cruisers like Axel Shulz and Marcus Bott. A fourth brother Neil worked Glenn’s corner.

Shaun famously outpointed Tyson Fury’s uncle Hughie Fury on Glenn’s undercard when he won the IBF World cruiserweight title on an epic night at the Louisa Centre in Stanley on June 3, 1989.

It was Shaun’s pro debut and he went on to have 20 paid fights as a super middleweight – nine wins, nine defeats and two draws.

Glenn said: “Shaun’s passing was a complete shock and we are all devastated. He was still so young and leaves a lovely family behind.

“I remember after winning my world title sitting ringside to watch Shaun’s debut. He was last on and outpointed Hughie Fury.”

It is the second passing of a Mccrory brother before his time. David, adopted and dearly loved, died at 29 from a muscle-wasting disease.