Cotton was hospitalised two weeks ago with pneumonia, according to his wife Ruby, and then diagnosed with COVID-19.

He had been an official professionally for nearly 30 years, starting in 1992, and was a referee until 2014.

After this he served on the International Boxing Federation Board of Directors.

Larry Hazzard, commissioner of the New Jersey State Athletic Control Board since 1985, praised the work and personality of Cotton who he has known since he became professional in boxing.

"He was a very friendly guy, very outgoing, very honest, greeted everyone with a smile and a kind word - it's a great loss to humanity," he said.

"I gave him his license as a professional referee and I was his mentor.

"I thought he was one of the greatest referees who ever did it."

Cotton was the third man in the ring during a famous bout between Lennox Lewis and Mike Tyson in June 2002 in Memphis.

There had been a brawl between the two fighters at a press conference earlier in the year and, at the time, the fight was the most successful on pay-per-view and remained so until 2007.

Hazzard added: "I specifically selected Eddie to be the referee in that fight because I knew this was the type of fight you needed a referee like Eddie Cotton to officiate - and he did an excellent job."

He also officiated the matches of famous boxers such as Wladimir Klitschko, Tyson Fury and George Foreman.