Hall of Fame trainer Emanuel Steward, a genius in the ring and a goodwill ambassador for boxing outside of it, died Thursday at 68 in a Chicago hospital following a lengthy illness.
Steward’s sister, Diane Steward Jones, confirmed his passing to Detroit television station WXYZ.
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.
But Steward was also a master who was able to help fighters of all styles improve their games.
Considered 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.
Though he trained fighters of all sizes and styles, ultimately he became something of a heavyweight expert. He took over as Lewis’ lead trainer in 1995, not long after Lewis was knocked out by Oliver McCall. Steward had coincidentally trained McCall to the win over Lewis on Sept. 24, 1994.
Under Steward’s tutelage, Lewis went 16-1-1, with wins over Mike Tyson, Vitali Klitschko and Evander Holyfield, among others. In 2004, he took over as Wladimir Klitschko’s trainer and Klitschko was promptly beaten by Lamon Brewster in a massive upset.
Leave a Reply