But the community of Wagga, his friends and his family all share the same sentiment.

John Sherriff died on August 6 this year at 88 years old, with his funeral held on Saturday, August 10.

Born on May 16, 1931 in a small town called Gulargambone in central west NSW, John moved to Parkes with his family before settling in Wagga as a young man to begin his career with the Royal Australia Air Force.

It was there in 1950 where he began his journey to becoming the city's - and RAAF's - best boxer.

After first showing off his talents and taking out gold for the local Wagga RAAF boxing competition, John took it up a notch three years later and won the Australian Interservice Sport championships.

"He's always had his competition flags, lots of great photos from back in the day and a couple of cups, he was passionate about boxing until the end," John's son Greg said.

"He's got 38 undefeated fights to his name, 16 by KO."

But boxing was not John's only passion in life.

He began working with meat to bring food to people's tables at Glenco Butcher before becoming the proud owner of Kooringal Butchery which he would carry on owning and running for the next 18 years.

Work aside, John began a family of his own when he met Diana in Parkes.

Diana followed John to Wagga where they settled down and got married, having five children together - Jude, Sue, Mike, Greg and Geoff.

The family has expanded even further, now sharing 28 grandchildren and 8 great grand children to carry on the family name and legacy.

Greg said his father was a rare gem, with people often surprised to find out his talents in boxing after spending some time getting to know him.

"Just talking to him, you wouldn't know he was a champion fighter," Greg said.

"He was such a gentle and caring man despite being a boxer."

After selling the butchery in Kooringal and untying the strings of his apron, John and his wife Diana retired to the Gold Coast in 1998 to be closer to family, but the memories of his days gone by never faded.

Greg described his father as a "Jolly old butcher" who was friends with everyone and well-liked among the community both in Parkes, Wagga and the Gold Coast.

"He always had a joke with someone, always played the fool to make people laugh," he said.