By Tim Smith

George E. Kimball III, noted boxing writer and author, died at his Manhattan home on Wednesday night following a lengthy battle with esophageal cancer. Kimball was 67 years old. He was surrounded by his wife, Marge Marash M.D., and his two children, Darcy Maeve Kimball and George E. Kimball IV when he passed away.

Kimball was a prolific writer, who spent 25 years as a sports columnist for the Boston Herald before retiring in 2005. After "retirement" he didn't stop writing. He authored "Four Kings: Leonard, Hagler, Hearns, Duran and the Last Great Era of Boxing" in 2008 and "Manly Art: They can run - but they can't hide" in 2011. Kimball also collaborated with John Schulian by editing two anthologies, "At The Fights: American Writers on Boxing" in 2011 and "The Fighter Still Remains: A Celebration of Boxing in Poetry and Song from Ali to Zevon" in 2010. He also wrote a weekly "America at Large" column for The Irish Times in Dublin, Ireland since 1997 as well as boxing articles for several websites.

As a sports columnist at the Boston Herald, Kimball covered everything - the Super Bowl, the World Series, NBA Finals, and even the America's Cup yacht races. But he was most noted as one of the finest boxing writers of this generation. He covered over 400 world title matches and was awarded the Nat Fleischer Award for Excellence in Boxing Writing from the Boxing Writers Association of America in 1985.

Read Smith's full piece at the New York Daily News by .