There is not much more I can add to the legacy of Emanuel Steward that many of you don't already know. The 68-year-old Steward trained 41 world champions and not too many trainers can say that trained the variety of boxers that Mr. Steward did.
We of course know about the likes of Thomas Hearns, Lennox Lewis and Wladimir Klitschko. But how about names like Hilmer Kenty, Oscar De La Hoya, Naseem Hamed, Michael Moorer, Jimmy Paul and James Toney? That is a varied group as there has ever been. Not only did Mr. Steward lend his boxing expertise, but the class and dignity that went along with it.
The class and dignity was something I always admired about Emanuel Steward. He wasn't always yelling and screaming at his boxers. This was a trait I felt helped him later on as a boxing commentator, where that class and dignity could shine through.
This has been a rough year for boxing because of some of the legends that we have lost. In fact, the year 2012 has seen three trainers associated with three of the "Four Kings" (as the late writer George Kimball called them) of boxing, leave us. Goody Petronelli, who trained Marvelous Marvin Hagler, died in January. Angelo Dundee, who guided Sugar Ray Leonard, passed away in early February. Now, Emanuel Steward, who led Thomas Hearns, has passed. Ray Arcel, who worked with Roberto Duran, died in 1994.
Our deepest condolences to the Steward Family.
He really was great great human being. People around the boxing world will miss him very much.
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