Reports said that Whyte, who was born on December 19 1936 and grew up in the area around the Metropole Cinema, died on April 18 in New York from a heart attack.
Whyte enjoyed a very successful but short fight career between 1959-1966 winning 11 times and losing thrice in his 14-fight career.
Though, they have never seen him fight, both Bazilio and Boyce were impressed with Whyte whom they came into contact with after he had retired from the ring.
Bazilio told Stabroek Sport that though he had never seen Whyte in action during his career, as a young boy going to the Maracaibo Gym in Water and House Streets, he was impressed by Whyte as a trainer.
“He was always teaching boxers new styles,” Bazilio recalled.
Bazilio said he recalled going to the West End Gym in Tiger Bay at one time where Whyte was training Lennox Blackmore who had his right hand tied behind his back.
“For four days he had him just jabbing with his left,” he recalled.
The result was that Blackmore put on a master class of jabbing and counter punching against Dale Hernandez on November 8, 1979 at the City Auditorium, Omaha, Nebraska, United States of America.
Like Bazilio, Boyce never saw the last Whyte in action but had the distinction of understudying Whyte at the Lodge Community Centre at the time of Whyte’s training of Lennox Beckles.
According to Boyce, who was the coach for Kenny Bristol when he became the first Guyanese boxer to win a Commonwealth title in Guyana, Whyte was one of the best where conditioning of fighters were concerned and he admitted to being given a few pointers over the years.
Whyte’s parents were Reginald Whyte and Beatrice Simmons and he belongs to one of the biggest boxing clans in this country starting from Lionel Gibbs.
It also includes the Simmons, Blackmores, Dodsons and Primos all of whom are related.
Whyte attended the Guyana Oriental College and later married Delores Whyte, now deceased. The union produced eight children.
Whyte won his first professional fight against Reginald Cyrus on January 1, 1959 scoring a knockout in the second round.
He was middleweight champion of Guyana, knocking out Young Braddock to win the title in round four.
He also had the unique distinction of fighting a close relative and winning.
In 1958, in the final of the national championships in the welterweight category, Whyte fought his uncle, Albert Simmons and won on points.
After his career ended, Whyte became a trainer before migrating to the USA where the only boxer he ever trained in the US was Michael Reid.
Lionel Sullivan, international judge says, recalls working together at Sprostons, now the Guyana National Industrial Corporation where Sullivan was engineer superintendent.
According to Sullivan, Whyte worked under him and he was one of the most decent, polite, soft spoken and well-mannered workers.
