CLASSY FUTCH MADE HIMSELF A GREAT TEACHER.

Byline: MICHAEL ROSENTHAL Boxing

Trainer Eddie Futch is best remembered for stopping Joe Frazier's bid to regain the heavyweight title from Muhammad Ali after the 14th round of their 1975 classic in Manila.

Frazier, his eyes nearly swollen shut, was spent. He might've been seriously hurt had Futch allowed it to continue.

``There isn't enough money in the world to let him get hurt,'' he said.

That's Eddie Futch: both wise and principled, one of boxing's most revered figures.

Futch, 86, who announced his retirement last week, had been in the boxing business for more than 60 years. In that time, he fought as an amateur for a short time, sparred with heavyweight legend and lifelong friend Joe Louis even though he was a welterweight, and trained 21 world champions, becoming recognized as one of the sport's great teachers along the way.

With his soft-spoken, respectful demeanor and his integrity, he also became known as one of the most likable people in the business.

``What a nice man,'' said Angelo Dundee, who stood in the opposite corner of Futch many times. ``When I think of Eddie, I think of class, a lot like Ray Arcel. Every time I saw him, I got a warm feeling. ``And, man, did he have a way with fighters. He's taken with him a lost art.''

When Futch speaks of Louis, he brings the most-beloved heavyweight champion of all-time back to life.

Still lucid, Futch, speaking from his home in Las Vegas, can talk about his buddy forever. His favorite topic is their sparring sessions in their native Detroit, which he can remember in detail more than 60 years later.

``I used to watch him,'' Futch said. ``I used to study what he did well, to pick up his strengths. Later, Joe noticed me and asked me to spar. I said, `You're too big for me.' He talked me into it, though. Joe always threw short punches. I just stayed on the outside and used my quickness. I'd hit him and get out. I could always hit him with my favorite punches.''

Futch didn't engage Louis for folly. The objective was to absorb as much knowledge as possible.

He would read books about boxing and then go to the gym and use or teach what he learned. He would watch film and do the same. And, of course, he would study live fights, countless live fights to perfect his craft. In the end, he was a master at understanding an opponent's weaknesses and exploiting them.

``I would study the opponent,'' he said. ``I would study him until I learned what he did well. Then I'd study him to determine his weaknesses until I found his biggest weakness.

``Then I'd make a game plan. I'd use his weakness against him. It really was easy.''

For him, it was.

That's why many of the best fighters in the world flocked to him - Don Jordan (of Los Angeles), Ken Norton (whom he guided to a victory over Ali), Michael Spinks, Larry Holmes, Bob Foster, Alexis Arguello, Riddick Bowe. The remarkable list goes on and on.

And much of the time, he created his masterpieces in L.A. He came out west in the early '50s with the idea of working on the Alaskan pipeline. Ultimately, he couldn't pull himself away from boxing and settled here, working much of his time out of Main Street Gym.

He still has a house in La Puente.

``I was always a teacher,'' he said. ``I always enjoyed taking a youngster with some talent and making him better. And I was good at it.''

Futch, whose last fighter was promising junior middleweight Brandon Mitchum, still loves boxing.

However, his age is catching up with him. His wife, Eva Marlene, who is ``30-something,'' said he had a seizure last year and the grind of a hectic schedule was taking its toll.

More significant, Futch was becoming disillusioned with the sport. He's disgusted by the proliferation of sanctioning bodies, which has produced 50-plus champions. He has no more patience for what he called ``ungrateful'' fighters. And he's tired of meddling managers.

A prime example of his frustration centered on Bowe, whom he guided to the world heavyweight title. In the end, the advice of controlling manager Rock Newman and Futch's best judgment collided violently and he left the fighter.

Although he likes Mitchum, he was fed up.

``It keeps getting worse,'' he said. ``And I'm getting older instead of younger. I couldn't see wasting the years I have left.''

Frazier expects his mentor to be around for some time.

``I want a bottle of whatever keeps him so young,'' he said from his office in Philadelphia. ``The Lord has been good to him. And he deserves it.

``He was a righteous, fair, honest, true trainer, a true man, one of a kind.''

Another milestone: Another boxing legend has reached a milestone: trainer/manager/promoter Lou Duva will be inducted into the International Hall of Fame this year.

Duva's face - that beautiful face - is one of the best known in the sport. He seems to be in the corner of every major fighter.

And why not? He's a complete package: a knowledgeable fight man with names like Evander Holyfield and Pernell Whitaker on his resume, a wise business man, an articulate, entertaining speaker in his unique way and as friendly as they come. Who doesn't like Lou Duva?

He's a tremendous spokesman for boxing.

``Lou Duva to me personifies what boxing is all about,'' Dundee told the Associated Press. ``Lou lives, eats and sleeps boxing and he's for real. It's good for boxing to have Lou Duva around. I think he's well deserving.''

Among others entering the Hall: light heavyweight champ Matthew Saad Muhammad, flyweight titleholder Miguel Canto (who was trained by Jesus Rivero, Oscar De La Hoya's former trainer) and welterweight champion Antonio Cervantes.

Joe Choynski of San Francisco is among the old-timers on the list. Choynski, who fought between 1888 and 1904, was the greatest Jewish heavyweight ever even though he never weighed more than roughly 170 pounds. He once knocked out Jack Johnson.

Rabbit punches: Anyone who saw Saturday's bout between Arturo Gatti and Angel Manfredy must agree: With apologies to Holyfield and Mike Tyson, Gatti is the most exciting fighter alive. He's never in a dull fight, which no one else can claim.

Manfredy, who won when the fight was stopped after eight rounds because of a cut above Gatti's eye, also emerged as a star on Saturday. His chin is one of the best in the business.

I'd love to see Naseem Hamed take on one of these guys.

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PHOTO Eddie Futch, 86, retired from boxing last week after training 21 world champions during his career.

Associated Press