THE BOXING WORLD is in mourning following the announcement that legendary trainer Emanuel Steward, 68, has passed away.
The American, owner of Kronk gym, trained multiple world champions over a coaching career that spanned five decades.
He was credited with changing the fighting style of Thomas Hearns up to and including his famous bouts with Sugar Ray Leonard, Roberto Duran and Marvin Hagler.
He was also famed for coaching stints with Lennos Lewis, Oscar de la Hoya and Wladimir Klitschko.
As recently as this summer, Steward was in the corner for Irish boxer Andy Lee when he faced the World Boxing Council middleweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jnr.
Earlier in the day, with news of Steward’s illness breaking, Lee took to Twitter to ask for privacy.
Victoria Kirton, Steward’s executive assistant, told the Associated Press that Steward, often referred to as the Godfather of Detroit, died in a Chicago hospital on Thursday afternoon.
Steward began working with Wladimir Klitschko in 2004. The world champion from the Ukraine commented:
(My brother) Vitali and I, along with the entire Team Klitschko, send our deepest and most heartfelt condolences to Emanuel’s family and friends. It is not often that a person in any line of work gets a chance to work with a legend. Well, I was privileged enough to work with one for almost a decade.
Steward was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1996.
