He wasn't really into the science of boxing, more the excitement, and giving the crowd what they wanted." "I also saw him work with Naseem Hamed and he was a great believer in the fighter having to be excited, and having to knock people out. More recently he did a similar restoration job with Wladimir Klitschko, a man different in personality and style to Lewis, but Steward could work with them all." Lennox Lewis linked up with Steward after being knocked out by Oliver McCall in 1994 and went on to dominate the heavyweight division. In the 1980s, the Kronk became the most feared production house in boxing. "Steward's links with Tommy Hearns in the Kronk gym forged his reputation as a legend of the ring. "He had a very strange method of doing his training programme, but got the best out of Lennox Lewis and took him to a new level. "He was quite a character," he told BBC Radio 5 live. Promoter Frank Maloney, who managed former world heavyweight champion Lewis, said Steward was unique in style. In addition to Lewis, other British fighters coached by Steward, who was inducted into the International Hall of Fame in 1996, include former light-heavyweight world champion Dennis Andries and former featherweight world champion Naseem Hamed. Steward, who had been suffering from colon cancer, also trained boxing greats Wilfred Benitez, Julio Cesar Chavez, Oscar de la Hoya, Evander Holyfield, Mike McCallum and James Toney. I know he will be with us in spirit along the way and we will accomplish these goals in his honour. "My team and I will carry on with the goals we had set while Emanuel was with us because that is exactly what Emanuel would have wanted. The long talks about boxing, the world, and life itself. Well, I was privileged enough to work with one for almost a decade. "It is not often that a person in any line of work gets a chance to work with a legend. "Boxing has suffered a tremendous loss," said Klitschko. For those interested in hearing what Emanuel Steward had to say about many heavyweight legends of the past – including, but not limited to, Muhammad Ali, Sonny Liston, Jack Johnson, Joe Louis, Jack Dempsey, George Foreman, Joe Frazier, and Rocky Marciano just to name a few – please watch and enjoy the video.The American handled more world champions than any other trainer, 43 in all, and was working with heavyweight champion Klitschko in July. The original audio for this interview has been completely remastered for this video by Ryan MacNamara. With the recent 10 year anniversary of this interview having just passed, that interview was just recently transformed into an historical boxing documentary. On March 30, 2010, Steward was interviewed by Geoffrey Ciani (aka – Rummy) about the history of boxing’s marquee weight class, the heavyweight division. With his deep knowledge of heavyweight history and his first hand experience in being part of that history, Steward’s perspective is historically unique. Not only has Steward had great success in heavyweight championship contests, but he was also an avid fan of boxing history and one of the most prominent boxing historians to ever analyze the rich history of heavyweight boxing. In addition to training all time greats in Lewis and Klitschko, both of whom had long and illustrious dominant reigns as champion, he also trained Oliver McCall when he scored his dramatic upset knockout against Lewis (prior to the two teaming up), and he also guided Evander Holyfield to victory when he became the only man to defeat Riddick Bowe. Steward had an especially good track record at heavyweight. Steward worked in that capacity from 2001 until he sadly passed away in 2012. In addition to his outstanding career as a world class trainer, Steward was also an exceptional commentator who called the HBO fights with exceptional ability to provide valuable insight to the viewing audience when it came to breaking down the sweet science in ways that were easy to follow and understand. He is best known for training Thomas Hearns, Lennox Lewis, and Wladimir Klitschko. In total, Steward trained 28 world champions during his time as a boxing trainer. This was Steward’s first world champion, but it would certainly not be his last. Steward’s first champion was On March 2, 1980, at new Joe Louis Arena, Steward-trained Hilmer Kenty won the WBA lightweight championship when he defeated Ernesto Espana. Steward ultimately did return to boxing in his best known capacity as a trainer at Kronk Gym, where he had a highly decorated career.
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