He elicited two key fundamentals from Futch: the meticulous wrapping of a boxer's hands, with the tape ending up in a tight knot in the middle of each hand and instructing his fighters to tighten and turn their fists immediately before impact. Tempted back to boxing two years later by his half-brother, he learnt the skills of coaching from the acknowledged master, Eddie Futch, and passed on that knowledge to a string of fine fighters, many of them from the Motor City. He won a national Golden Gloves title in 1964 but chose not to try for the US Olympics team, opting instead for the security of a job as an electrician. Steward, by all accounts, was an outstanding amateur bantamweight, tall and rangy with keen boxing instincts honed in illegal fights as a teenager in the mountains of West Virginia, where he grew up. It was a mark of his genius that the best boxers in the world appreciated his input every bit as much as the novices, even though he never boxed professionally. "When the deal was done," Steward said, "I was committed to something like $300,000."īut Steward made plenty of money, too, turning his wit from the gym to the negotiating table and always struck a good deal with the many fine champions he trained. He demanded $100,000 for the champion, $25,000 for the ageing welterweight Angel Espada, who was to be featured on the undercard, and $25,000 for himself. The trainer, by now also a manager, related how Cordero, España's manager, took out a gun and put it on the table between them. "I heard they needed an opponent for the lightweight champion Ernesto España," Steward told the late Harry Mullan, editor of Boxing News, in 1997. In 1980, Steward took a trip to Puerto Rico to meet a character called Pepe Cordero, whose main function in life was as a go-between for the World Boxing Association if you wanted a title shot, the quickest way was to pay Cordero (who has since died, largely unmourned). The Texan was a lightweight of decent skill but no profile and how Steward got him his title shot sheds an interesting light on the workings of the fight game. Ten bells do not seem enough to mourn his passing.Steward's first champion was not, as is often assumed, his masterpiece Hearns, the most illustrious student of his renowned Kronk gym in Detroit, but a fighter from outside that setup, Hilmer Kenty.
"His energy, enthusiasm and bright smile were a constant presence. "For more than a decade, Manny was a respected colleague who taught us so much not only about the sweet science but also about friendship and loyalty.
"There are no adequate words to describe the enormous degree of sadness and loss we feel at HBO Sports with the tragic passing of Manny Steward," Ken Hershman, president of HBO Sports, said in a statement. Later he worked with British and Canadian world heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis.Īn inductee of the International Boxing Hall of Fame and the World Boxing Hall of Fame, Steward also worked for many years as part of HBO's commentary team on fights. The West Virginia native was central to the famous Kronk Gym in Detroit where he helped shape the careers of fighters such as Hilmer Kenty and Milton McCrory. Most recently, Steward trained heavyweight world champion Wladimir Klitschko before he was forced to step aside because of an undisclosed illness. Under Steward's guidance, 'Hitman' Hearns became a four-division welterweight champion in the 1980s as he vied with fellow boxing greats such as Sugar Ray Leonard, Roberto Duran and Marvin Hagler. Steward ended his amateur career with a record of 94 wins and three losses but is best known as the trainer who transformed Thomas Hearns from a light-hitting boxer into a devastating puncher. Steward's girlfriend Anita Ruiz, who is also executive director of the Kronk Gym Foundation, told Reuters the trainer had died after having "complications through surgery" for diverticulitis. "He was in no pain, and we sang to him, as well as did the doctors present.
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"He has passed - he's gone home," Steward's sister Diane Steward-Jones told the Detroit Free Press by phone. Top trainer Emanuel Steward, a former amateur boxer who worked with several world champions and was also a respected television commentator, died in a Chicago hospital on Thursday aged 68.
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