“That’s the central element of his identity. “He’s going to be most known as one of the greatest trainers in the history of the sport,” Lampley said. He frequently reached into his own pocket to help the fighters he trained, and was always a friendly, accessible expert for journalists looking for help on a story. In a sport marked by infighting and bitter personal conflicts, Steward had no known enemies and was almost universally revered in the industry. Soon, he would be running the facility and developing scores of high-level fighters. He took his half brother, James Steward, to the Kronk Gym in Detroit and became a part-time coach. When he taught it to Wladimir, look what he became.”Ī national Golden Gloves champion as a fighter, Steward became an elite trainer almost by accident. When Lennox learned it, he became a superstar. “He was extraordinary with things like that.
If you took a line from the fighter’s front knee and brought it up, Emanuel taught them never to let their chin cross that line. “He taught Lennox Lewis never to let his chin drift over his front knee. “That’s an extraordinary accomplishment,” said Jim Lampley, Steward’s partner on HBO boxing broadcasts since 2001 and one of Steward’s closest friends. Steward also got heavyweight title wins with McCall and Evander Holyfield, which put his record as the trainer of heavyweights at 34-2-1. Klitschko won 16 fights in a row under Steward. In 2004, he took over as Wladimir Klitschko’s trainer and Klitschko was promptly beaten by Lamon Brewster in a massive upset.īut, just as he had done with Lewis, he slowly turned Klitschko around and helped him become the top heavyweight in the world. Under Steward’s tutelage, Lewis went 16-1-1, with wins over Mike Tyson, Vitali Klitschko and Evander Holyfield, among others. Steward had coincidentally trained McCall to the win over Lewis on September 24, 1994. He took over as Lewis’ lead trainer in 1995, not long after Lewis was knocked out by Oliver McCall. Though he trained fighters of all sizes and styles, ultimately he became something of a heavyweight expert.
Steward’s excitement about a good fight was palpable – boxing pundits will recall his famous exclamation at the end of the ninth round of the May 18, 2002, fight between Arturo Gatti and Micky Ward, “This should be the Round of the Century!” In addition to being a great trainer, he developed a reputation as an outstanding analyst on HBO. A 1996 International Boxing Hall of Fame inductee, Steward was best known as the trainer who developed Thomas Hearns into one of the most fearsome fighters of his generation.īut Steward was also a master who was able to help fighters of all styles improve their games.Ĭonsidered the greatest trainer of his era, he worked with dozens of world champions and was instrumental in the success of not only Hearns, but elite fighters like heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko, ex-heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis, Oscar de la Hoya and many others. There had been multiple erroneous reports of his death early on Thursday, but Steward’s sister, Diane Steward Jones, confirmed his passing to Detroit television station WXYZ. THE Hall of Fame trainer, a genius in the ring and a goodwill ambassador for boxing outside of it, died at 68 in a Chicago hospital following a lengthy illness.
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