Emanuel Steward | |
---|---|
Steward signing an autograph in Detroit, Michigan, December 1981
|
|
Statistics | |
Nickname(s) | Manny |
Nationality | American |
Born |
Bottom Creek, West Virginia, U.S. |
July 7, 1944
Died | October 25, 2012 Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
(aged 68)
Emanuel "Manny" Steward (July 7, 1944 – October 25, 2012) was an American boxer, trainer, and commentator for HBO Boxing. Steward trained 41 world champion fighters throughout his career, most notably Lennox Lewis, Wladimir Klitschko, Thomas Hearns, and Tony Tucker, through the famous Kronk Gym. His heavyweight fighters had a record of 34-2-1 combined in title fights. He was an inductee of the International Boxing Hall Of Fame, and the World Boxing Hall of Fame. Steward was also known for his charity work in Detroit, Michigan, helping endangered youths to attain an education.
Steward was born in Bottom Creek, West Virginia, but, by the age of 12, he had moved with his mother to Detroit, Michigan, after she divorced his father, who was a coal miner. After moving to Detroit, he worked briefly in the auto industry before eventually going to Brewster Recreation Center, where Joe Louis and Eddie Futch trained. Steward began an amateur boxing career there. He compiled a record of 94 wins and 3 losses as an amateur boxer, including winning the 1963 national Golden Gloves tournament in the bantamweight division. He was forced to abandon a professional career due to his family's economic situation, and began working as an electrical lineman.
In 1971, Steward took his half brother, James Steward, to the nearby Kronk Gym, a hot-bed for amateur boxers in the 1970s, and became a part-time coach there. Steward trained many of the nation's top amateurs. He eventually translated his success with amateurs into a career training championship-level professional fighters.