Tommy Brooks was fond of saying boxing trainers are only as good as the fighters who hire them.

The quiet, humble Brooks always appreciated the great fortune that enabled him to work in various capacities with legends such as Evander Holyfield, Mike Tyson, Pernell Whitaker and Mike McCallum.

He also worked with Vitali Klitschko, Wladimir Klitschko and Vinny Pazienza. Recognized as one of boxing’s best trainers of the 1990s and early 2000s, Brooks was known for his kindness, but also his no-nonsense, straight-shooting approach to preparing fighters.

Brooks died from colon cancer at 71 on Tuesday night.

Shaun George, his son-in-law, recalled Wednesday how Brooks helped him immensely when he was a light heavyweight contender and later transitioned to training fighters.

“Tommy was one of those guys where you always knew where you stood with him,” George told The Ring. “He was always honest, brutally honest, but always loving, always caring. He would give you the shirt off his back and I really mean that. One of the nicest guys you could ever meet, but he never told you a lie. No matter what it was or how hard it was to give it to you, he always told you the truth. That’s what all men should strive to be like.”

Brooks, who grew up in San Diego, California, and later settled in Knoxville, Tennessee, beat Michael Spinks during an amateur career in which he won Golden Gloves titles at the state and regional levels. After a two-year pro career (7-3, 7 KOs) as a middleweight and super middleweight, Brooks embarked on making his mark in the sport as a trainer in 1982.

He learned the trade from some of the most accomplished trainers in boxing history before Brooks became the chief second for numerous world champions.

Brooks, who was married to Donna Brooks, one of the late Lou Duva’s daughters, was Tyson’s trainer for his six bouts between his second defeat to Evander Holyfield, the infamous “Bite Fight” in June 1997, and his knockout loss to Lennox Lewis in June 2002. Brooks worked Holyfield’s corner for each of his two victories over Tyson.

“He was a trainer of champions,” George said. “He trained Evander Holyfield, Mike Tyson, Wladimir Klitschko. There was a number of champions he trained. One thing I don’t think people understand is how he not only knew how to train a fighter, he knew how to handle a corner.

“Being his son-in-law, there were so many things he taught me. But the biggest things were to be respectful and be a man. He was a jewel, a legend in boxing I feel like a lotta people don’t even know about because he was so introverted and so quiet.”

Upon his induction into the New Jersey Boxing Hall of Fame in 2003, Brooks reflected on a life that took him from competing on the U.S. Air Force Boxing Team to the pinnacle of the sport.

“I always say in boxing I got my AA and BA degrees from Archie Moore, my MA from George Benton and my PhD from Eddie Futch,” Brooks, a longtime resident of Wayne, New Jersey, said at that time. “And Lou Duva taught me to stand up for your guy. It should be done more often, fighters get screwed, so you’re just standing up for yourself.”

After parting ways with Tyson just before the promotion began for the Lewis showdown, Brooks worked former WBC heavyweight champ Samuel Peter, former WBA 154-pound champ Yuri Foreman, super middleweight contender Omar Sheika, George and late welterweight Oscar Diaz. He also had worked with world champions Junior Jones, Charles Murray and Freddie Pendleton.

In later years, Brooks was a trainer for the Chinese national team. He often resided in China for months at a time and worked with eventual WBO interim heavyweight champ Zhilei Zhang and light heavyweight contender Fanlong Meng. Brooks and George trained Zhang and Meng once they turned pro as well.