PATRICK Forde, one of Guyana’s finest boxers, and who once went 15 rounds with Salvador Sanchez for the WBC featherweight championship of the world in 1980, died at the King’s County Hospital in  Brooklyn, New York yesterday at the age of 55.
Forde became the first Guyanese to fight for a world title and four months after his match-up with Sanchez for the WBC featherweight title on September 13th, 1980, he fought Eusebio Pedroza for the WBA version of the title on Valentine’s Day in 1981.
Unfortunately, Forde was unsuccessful in capturing a world title, but he opened the doors to numerous fighters from Guyana who became world champions, such as Andrew ‘Six Heads’ Lewis, Vivian Harris and Wayne Braithwaite.

Throughout his time as a fighter, Forde had the opportunity to work under the tutelage of legendary trainers Cus D’Amato and Eddie Futch, and he was hoping to follow in their footsteps of developing world champions.
Forde ended his professional career in 1987 with a record of 174 (11 KO’s).
The reason why he stopped boxing was because his shoulder slipped out of place a lot. That is why he became a trainer.
Forde once said there are three things that a fighter has to do when fighting.  “First, you have to have intention, think about what you intend to do; Second, you have to have position, position your body towards what you intend to do; and third, is execution, execute all the things you intend to do after you have positioned your body.”
Forde believed education is important to a fighter because boxing does not always payoff. Though Forde fought twice for a world title and felt he had reached the top, he was not financially stable. In the two world title fights in 1980 and 1981, he made an estimated US$30,000 for each fight.
Forde said: “Training expenses came to US$10,000. My manager had to get 33%, and my trainer had to get 10%.  I had to pay back all of the money that I borrowed because I was not working when I was preparing for those fights. So at the end of both fights I was left with very little.”
Forde was able to attain the Guyana, Commonwealth, and WBC Fecarbox featherweight titles. Apart from him there are two other Fordes who have made the transition from boxer to trainer.

One of  his nephews, Darius Forde, and the other his brother, Reginald Forde, who fought the likes of Marvin Hagler, Mike McCallum, Bobby Watts, and Matthew Hilton.