Harry Carpenter, a former BBC boxing commentator who covered fights for more than 40 years and became known for his verbal jousts with British heavyweight Frank Bruno, has died.
He was 84.
Carpenter's family said yesterday he died at King's College Hospital in London at the weekend.
The cause of death was not released.
Carpenter covered his first fight for the BBC in 1949 and retired in 1994.
During that span, he broadcast all the major bouts, including Muhammad Ali's epic "Rumble in the Jungle" and "Thrilla in Manila".
Director of BBC Sport Barbara Slater described Carpenter as "one of the standout voices of sports broadcasting".
Boxing promoter Frank Maloney, who managed former world heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis, called Carpenter "the voice of boxing".
Carpenter was most closely identified with Bruno, whose catchphrase "Know what I mean, 'Arry?" featured in their post-fight interviews.
The expression became part of the nation's sporting lexicon.
Carpenter appeared to momentarily lose his neutral stance during Bruno's world title fight against Mike Tyson in Las Vegas in 1989.
After Bruno rocked Tyson with a left hook in the first round, Carpenter said, "Go on! Get in there, Frank!" Tyson recovered and went on to stop Bruno in the fifth round.
Bruno captured the WBC title in 1995 but was stopped by Tyson a year later in his first defence.
It was Bruno's last fight.
