Lewis is one of many top fighters to have had his career shaped by Steward, whose passing was last night confirmed by his sister. He was 68 and had recently undergone surgery for a stomach illness. He trained more than 40 world champions during his illustrious career, with Lewis being one of them. He went to Steward's Kronk Gym in Detroit after losing his WBC heavyweight title to Oliver McCall in 1994, reclaimed his title in 1997 and went on to have a spell as the undisputed champion before retiring in 2004. "I'm completely devastated by the passing of my long-time friend, mentor and trainer Emanuel "Manny" Steward," Lewis wrote on his official website."Manny has helped me get through some of the biggest fights in my career and I only regret that I couldn't return the favour and see him through his biggest fight. "We've maintained a close relationship and the last time we spoke he seemed his usual upbeat self so it was very disturbing to hear about his illness and rapid decline.
"It is with a heavy heart that realisation of what I hoped were just rumours are now in fact true. Manny always told me I was the best, but the truth is, HE was the best and I'm grateful, privileged and honoured to be counted among his many historic successes." Steward was inducted to the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1996 and rose to prominence as a corner man owing to his work with Detroit fighter Thomas Hearns. Hearns, who became Steward's first professional fighter along with another Detroit native, Hilmer Kenty, in 1977, won his first world title in 1980 and went on to engage in a series of all-time classics with Sugar Ray Leonard, Roberto Duran and Marvin Hagler. "This has been a very tragic year for the boxing world, but today we've truly lost one of its crown jewels," Lewis added.
No comments:
Post a Comment