READING, Pa. -- Former World Boxing Association super middleweight champion Steve Little has died of cancer at Reading Hospital.

Little, 34, admitted to the hospital Jan. 3, died Sunday. The Reading native compiled a professional record of 25-17-3, winning the WBA title in Feb. 1994 by defeating Michael Nunn in London.

Little lost the title in August of that year, when he was decisioned by Frank Liles.

Before becoming ill, Little had been training for a fight with Brian McKneely of Denmark.

Little, one of 18 children, is survived by his wife, Wanda Little, and six children.

"Even when he was in the hospital, I needed him for something, and he said, 'I'll always be here for you, Bobby,'" said Bobby Heath, a fellow Reading boxer.

"Steve put everybody else before himself," said Marshall Kauffman, a Reading promoter and trainer. "He's always been a fighter, and that's why he fought up to the last minute."