Boxing remembers Vernon Forrest as a good person before anything else

The death of Vernon Forrest has sent another shockwave throughout the boxing community, and folks who knew him within the industry are remembering him as a good human being who gave back to his community.

"Vernon was one of the few decent people in boxing," his promoter Gary Shaw told The Associated Press. "I don't know what to say. I'm still in disbelief, I'm still in shock."

A lot of fighters give back, and Vernon Forrest was one of the big givers. His publicist said his charity work was very near to his heart:

Those who knew the fighter praised his role in launching the Destiny's Child group homes in Atlanta, which work to provide homes for the mentally disabled.

"It was truly his calling," Forrest's publicist, Kelly Swanson, said of his work with children. "When he wasn't boxing, this was his full-time job.

"When they would see him, they would just light up, and some of them couldn't even talk. Vernon was very much involved. He'd have some of the kids over to his house on Sundays. They were part of his family."

Others say Vernon, at 38, wasn't ready to leave boxing any time soon:

"He was a great fighter, a great champion," said Ken Hershman, vice president in charge of boxing at Showtime. "He was coming to the end of his career, but wasn't ready to hang 'em up. He still had a lot of life ahead of him."

HBO's Ross Greenburg hopes that some good can come out of this:

"Maybe Vernon's lasting legacy will be for Americans everywhere to rise up and end this kind of senseless violence," said HBO Sports president Ross Greenburg, who helped put on eight of Forrest's fights.

Bad Left Hook recapped Forrest's career earlier this morning.

Related: Destiny's Child, Inc.