For someone who spent a significant amount of his life ruthlessly separating opponents from their senses, the late Dingaan Thobela was surprisingly described as having been generous to a fault out of the ring.
Thobela - who was found dead in his Langlaagte flat in Johannesburg, after a short illness on Monday - was so gifted as a boxer he made the violent act of winning boxing matches look positively attractive.
As a friend of his explained it, the 57-year-old was a natural fighter who had "the cunning of a fox, good reflexes and a sharp eye", attributes which elevated him to a world champion in two weight divisions, with two belts in the lightweight class (WBO and the WBA) and one at super-middleweight (WBC).