Duncan was gunned down at his Agricola home, Saturday night, leaving a big gap in local refereeing.

Arno pointed out that Duncan’s passing was the second big loss to the professional boxing arena within a year, because former boxer-turned-promoter, Andrew Murray, died this very month last year.

“This would definitely have an impact on the Board. It is very difficult to replace a referee,” Arno said.

The GBBC executive said Duncan would make the time to officiate anywhere there was a card; he travelled to Linden for the Smart Touch card there late last year.

Now the search is on to find persons to fill the gap created as Duncan’s life was snuffed out in a hail of bullets.

Duncan was one of two active referees for professional bouts, the other being the longstanding Eion Jardine.

“I can’t train a referee in that short period of time. Refereeing is not like a judging,” Jardine told Chronicle Sport yesterday.

Duncan had 123 bouts under his belt, performing his last duties in the ring on Boxing Night, doing the first three fights.

He first entered the professional ring on November 29, 1987, refereeing the bout between Dexter Browne and Linden Harris, the deceased brother of World Boxing Association Junior Welterweight champion, Vivian Harris.

Perhaps the most memorable encounter under Duncan’s eyes was the title clash between Lalta Narine and Robin Lall for the National Featherweight crown on Saturday, April 30, 1994.

“That was the greatest encounter between boxers of Indian descent. Robin Lall eventually got the decision,” Jardine recalled.

After some 16 years of officiating in the professional ring Duncan did his last bout between Cassius Matthews and Dexter Breedy.

The late official also did judging, having assessed some 40 fights in the professional ring.

“He was a very good and dear friend, always to his game, always with ideas. He liked boxing,” Jardine said.

Duncan, a soldier by profession, was already boxing when he was enlisted in the army. He reached to the top as an amateur pugilist, being crowned National Junior Welterweight champion, under the guidance of former world-rater Lennox Beckles.

“He was a force to reckon with,” Evan Parris, a former colleague, said.

Parris recalled that he was always a quiet individual who went about his task in a professional way.

The boxer served in the Maritime Corps and later the Coast Guard, retiring in 1995. Then he became a member of CANU. He coached boxers for the inter-unit championships, with good success. He had done a physical education course in Trinidad & Tobago in the early 80s.

Duncan served amateur boxing as a referee/judge, and later trained referee judges.

Vice-president of the Guyana Amateur Boxing Association (GABA), a long-serving figure in amateur boxing, Rudolph Torrington, said: “When Michael Atherly, the country’s only internationally-certified official, came off the scene, it was Duncan who used to run all the referee/judge courses, along with Parris and myself.”

Torrington declared: “He was really knowledgeable and honest in his decisions.”

Duncan was introduced to the professional boxing fraternity by Humber Green in the late 80s. He was a member of the GBBC but relinquished his position because of work commitments. He last held a seminar, with Jardine, for judges.