The great Emanuel Stewart passed away 10 years ago this week, but his presence and impact on the sport can still be felt, writes former WBO middleweight champion Andy Lee
Even though it’s been 10 years since Emanuel Stewart passed away so quickly – I’m still sad that he’s gone. All great memories lead to a range of emotions – I’m so grateful to have them, and I still have a lump in my throat.
I’m lucky to have spent so much time with him – and to the end of his life. I keep reminding him, and I don’t stop thinking about him – I always come back to the question “What would Emanuel do?” As a mentor, coach, guide and commentator, I was guided by the perfect man. Even under Adam Booth, when I changed my style and moved away from Kronk, when I was short-lived, I was always frustrated about what Emanuel would guide me to do.
Just to surround him is an education. It’s boxing, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. I live with him in his house – our bedroom is on the opposite side of the hallway. SugarHill Steward was there; Johnathon Bank; Aaron Pryor Jnr; and people called him from all over the world. It could be Don King or Bob Arum – these phone calls will always be on and he’ll let you know what’s going on in the ring, in the gym and inside the sport. If he were here now, he would be in touch with Wladimir Klitschko, and know well what is going on in Ukraine.
He always programmed his fighter. When he talks to you face-to-face or speaks to the press within earshot, he is programming and thinking about you. He himself said it – you have to be a psychologist as well as a physical trainer – you have to know the boxers. He likes to spend a lot of time away from the gym getting to know them, their families and their backgrounds; to see how they lived and what kind of people they felt.
Aside from my parents, Emanuel is the most influential person in my life. In a sense, myself, Johnathon and Tony Harrison have become synonymous with him; SugarHill is even more than that. We all learned and absorbed things differently from him, and I think he would be proud of us. He would be so proud of SugarHill and the way he transformed Tyson Fury – he really wanted to train Tyson – this is similar to how Emanuel changed Wladimir.
There used to be a picture on the wall in the hallway of his house – it was him as a young man with three children, eight or nine years old. Two of them grew up to be world champions, and one of them was an Olympic gold medalist. They are Tommy Hearns, Stevie and Milton McCrory. Emanuel’s wife Marie and daughter Sylvia are doing a wonderful job in building a new Kronk legacy and supporting the young children in Detroit today. It’s a tough city, but a perfect breeding ground for warriors.
Emanuel could spot talent a mile away. I can remember him saying, when Dmitry Salita was still fighting, to SugarHill, “Stay close to Dmitry, he’ll be a big boxer one day.” He could see what he would be like – the things he said years ago still come true to this day. There’s also a bit of mystique about him – Samuel Peter often calls him “The Wizard”. He was born on 7/7; there are seven letters in his name; seven letters in his second name. He studied arithmetic. There’s a bit of magic about Emanuel; There’s just something about him that you just can’t put your finger on.
He changed the course of my life, from a very good amateur in County Limerick, Ireland – relatively unknown – to Detroit to train with “The Hitman” and all the great boxers. era, then travel the world with him and train alongside Wladimir, Jermain Taylor, Chad Dawson, Miguel Cotto, Kermit Cintron, Cornelius “K9” Bundrage and more. I’m living my dream, and it’s because of Emanuel.
These wonderful people come once in a lifetime. He’s a great character – a real class act – as comfortable talking to homeless people on the streets as he is talking to major lawyers, promoters and politicians best. He is one of the most generous people – with time and money – that I have ever met in my life, and his fame, legacy and legend only grow.
