Dapper, charming and with a joke for every occasion, Mr Lucien Chen who died in Florida earlier this week at age 88 was among the more colourful Jamaicans of his generation.

The accolades are flowing about Mr Chen’s influence on Jamaican boxing and horse racing, but he was also a personality of note in traditional business – successfully operating restaurants and clubs in Kingston during the 1960s and 70s.

That said, it was as boxing promoter extraordinaire and horse-racing entrepreneur for which Mr Chen will best be remembered.

An instinctive risk-taker and skilled negotiator, Mr Chen was at his best when pulling varying interests together for a boxing promotion. Indeed, his influence on Jamaican boxing cannot be overestimated.

Top Jamaican fighters dating back to the likes of Messrs Bunny Grant and Percy Hayles in the 1960s, and others such as Messrs Michael McCallum, Richard ‘Shrimpy’ Clarke and Simon Brown of the 70s and 80s benefited from Mr Chen’s initiatives.

His Dinner Boxing project of the 1980s, which allowed leading pugilists to showcase their craft to society’s more affluent in the ballrooms of New Kingston hotels, breathed new life into the sport.

Mr Chen played an important role in the famed Sunshine Showdown promotion at the National Stadium in Kingston in January 1973. That was the night Mr George Foreman – watched by well in excess of 30,000 people – demolished World Heavyweight Champion Mr Joe Frazier in less than two rounds.

As part of the effort to place Jamaica centrally in the context of international boxing, Mr Chen was instrumental in bringing a few of the world’s greatest boxers, including Messrs Sugar Ray Leonard and Muhammed Ali, on high-profile visits to these shores.

Mr Chen’s role in horseracing was also monumental. A race horse owner and enthusiast in his own right, he co-founded and for several years was part owner of the then largest bookmaking firm, Track Price Plus.

Those who knew him well also remember Mr Chen as a philanthropist. He gave much to those in need and for worthy causes.

He was a gambler and is reputed to have lost fortunes as often as he won them. One prominent Jamaican boxer once described Mr Chen as the only man he knew “who can get rich today, poor tomorrow and rich again the next day”.

Often controversial, Mr Chen was sometimes accused of cutting corners in his drive to get projects done. Undoubtedly, he pushed the envelope on occasions.

Yet his charm, charisma and exceptional sense of fun, meant he made few if any enemies.

Jamaica is the richer for having had Mr Lucien Chen.