Among the fighters he trained are Joe Frazier, Ken Norton, Larry Holmes, and Trevor Berbick, four of the five men to defeat Muhammad Ali.
Futch also trained Riddick Bowe and Montell Griffin when they handed future Hall of Fame fighters Evander Holyfield and Roy Jones Jr. their first professional defeats.
Always a talented athlete, he started off running track in grammar school and when a teenager, played semi-professional basketball with the Moreland YMCA Flashes.
He planned to attend the YMCA College School at the University of Chicago, but when the Great Depression happened, he was forced to continue his job at the Wolverine Hotel to support his family.
[2] Eddie Futch was first hired by Frazier, and his chief cornerman and manager Yank Durham to help him prepare for a fight with "Scrap Iron" Johnson in 1967.
[3] The tactic proved to be highly effective, and Frazier remained undefeated, winning the New York title from Buster Mathis, and WBA crown from Jimmy Ellis with devastating knockouts.
All of which led to the inevitable showdown with Muhammad Ali in the bout promoters deemed "The Fight of the Century" which took place in March 1971 at New York's Madison Square Garden.
Sensing trouble, Futch vetoed as referee (Ali-Foreman ref) Zach Clayton and two others suggested by Ali's promoter, Don King.
He told Filipino authorities that Ali intended to ruin what was to be a great event for their nation by constantly tying up Frazier illegally, and suggested that they assign one of their countrymen as referee.
This resulted in the appointment of Filipino Carlos Padilla, who sternly warned Ali on multiple occasions throughout the bout that he would be penalized, thus preventing him from doing it as often or effectively as he might have wished.
However, Ali's strategy of punching Frazier in the head ultimately proved more effective as it closed his one sighted eye, rendering him nearly blind in the ring.