Jones was trained by his father, and he told the AP he wished his mother hadn't talked him out of hiring Steward to be his trainer when he turned pro. "He wasn't just a trainer to me, he was like a dad." "If it wasn't for Emanuel Steward, it would be very difficult to be where I am today," Hearns said. On an emotional day, which started in the morning with family, close friends and former fighters gathering at two homes Steward owned, Hearns was so overcome with emotion when he stepped up to the pulpit that he had to step back, wipe tears off his cheeks and gather himself. Hearns was knocked out in the 14th round by Leonard in 1981 in what Steward later said that was the most painful experience of his life and was on the short end of a three-round fight with Marvin Hagler in 1985 that is considered one of the best bouts in history. The boxer known as Hitman lost some of his most famous bouts. Hearns was the first man to win titles in four divisions and he won five overall. Hearns put the gym - and the trainer affectionately called Manny - on the map. Steward was an accomplished amateur boxer who chose to become a coach in the ring, starting in 1971 with a part-time position at Kronk for $35 per week. "And I say, he is the greatest trainer that ever lived." "I've been interviewed by a lot of TV stations around the world, they have put Emanuel Steward a league of great trainers," Lewis said. Lewis was trained by Steward from 1994 to 2004, a period that included victories over Holyfield and Mike Tyson. He was hired by boxers from all over the globe. Steward, who was born in West Virginia in 1944 and moved 11 years later to the Motor City, trained boxers born and raised in Detroit such as Hearns. "We want to get a good foundation, like it was in the beginning, and build it back up." "We closed it after he passed, but we're going to restructure it and we want it done correctly," Sylvia Steward-Williams told The AP, sitting in her father's second-floor office at his brick home on Detroit's west side. Now, there isn't a Kronk Gym anywhere - and his family is hoping to change that. It was allowed to remain open, but it put Steward in a difficult financial situation and he later rented space at a gym in Dearborn so his young fighters could train. The city closed the original Kronk Recreation Center - a hot, sweaty basement gym - after vandals stole its copper piping in 2006. "I'm so glad he made the Kronk Gym what it was, helping countless young boys become men and many amateurs become champions."Ī private dinner and party in Detroit followed the service. "He had a million-dollar smile you couldn't deny," Franklin told The Associated Press from her front-row seat. Franklin, a friend of Steward's in Detroit for decades, said she wouldn't have missed the memorial for anything. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the world."Īnd if that wasn't impressive enough, Aretha Franklin sang a stirring rendition of "I'll Fly Away" in front of a few thousand witnesses at Greater Grace Temple. "There are five legitimate heavyweight champions sitting in the first two rows and the No. You would have to go to Canastota (N.Y.) in midsummer to the Hall of Fame to see anything even remotely approaching this group. "Over here, you have a section that I would call the Hall of Fame section. "What a spectacular turnout of support," HBO Sports commentator Jim Lampley said. His family took its time to plan a memorial befitting a beloved public figure - and it was a hit.Ĭhampions he trained - including Thomas Hearns, Lennox Lewis, Wladimir Klitschko and Evander Holyfield - one he worked out only briefly - Sugar Ray Leonard - and another he didn't train at all - Roy Jones Jr. Steward, the man who made the Kronk Gym famous, died of colon cancer last month at the age of 68. You have reached a degraded version of because you're using an unsupported version of Internet Explorer.įor a complete experience, please upgrade or use a supported browserĭETROIT - Hall of Fame trainer Emanuel Steward was celebrated by boxing royalty and the Queen of Soul at a star-studded memorial service Tuesday in the Motor City.
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