“A lot of these kids would be in the streets,” Steward once said. The gym for years was seen as a way to keep kids out of trouble in southwestern Detroit. “He saw the respect when they saw the colors.” “Lennox used to say when fighting as an amateur that everyone was afraid of the Kronk guys,” Steward once said. Steward trained, helped train or managed some of the greatest fighters - and some kids who just needed to get off the streets - of the past 40 years out of Kronk and in other facilities across the globe, putting fighters from many countries in red and gold trunks. “He brought the very, very best out of me,” Hearns once said of Steward. Hearns was knocked out in the 14th round by Sugar Ray Leonard in 1981 - Steward said that was the most painful experience of his life - and Hearns was on the short end of a three-round fight with Marvin Hagler in 1985 that is considered one of the best bouts in boxing history. The boxer known as Hitman was the first man to win titles in four divisions - he won five overall - and topped his 155-8 amateur record by going 61-5-1 with 48 knockouts as a pro.Įven though Steward had a lot of success with Hearns, some of his setbacks from his corner were among the most memorable in the sport. The Kronk’s first professional champion was Hilmer Kenty, a lightweight from Columbus, Ohio, who started training there in 1978 and won the WBA title two years later.īut It was Hearns who really put Kronk - and the trainer known as Manny - on the map. and in 1971 accepted a part-time position as head coach - for $35 per week - of the boxing program at the Kronk Recreation Center. Instead of trying to make it as a professional boxer, he went to work for the Detroit Edison Co. Steward, at the age of 18, won the national Golden Gloves tournament as a bantamweight. He moved to the Motor City just before becoming a teenager and trained as an amateur boxer at Brewster Recreation Center, which once was the home gym of Joe Louis. He got boxing gloves as a Christmas present at the age of 8, the start of what would become a long career in the sweet science. Retrieved 12 October 2020.Steward, whose father was a coal miner and mother was a seamstress, was born in West Virginia. ^ "Steward Hits The UK, Start Preparing Fury For Wilder Rematch".^ "Tyson Fury vs Deontay Wilder 2 knockout: 'Gypsy King' trainer SugarHill Steward claims he's considering retirement, but is he joking?"."SugarHill Steward: Credit For Fury Beating Wilder Should Be Even". ^ "Tyson Fury's new trainer Sugarhill Steward on their link-up and the plan to beat Deontay Wilder".^ "Deontay Wilder vs Tyson Fury 2: Who is Gypsy King's new trainer SugarHill Steward? Why did he replace Ben Davison?".^ "STEWARD HAILS FELLOW 'FREE SPIRIT' FURY"."You've heard of rope-a-dope? How about blast-a-bomber?". The trilogy fight ended in a knockout win for Tyson Fury culminating in the end of a three-year rivalry and resulting in Steward getting his first heavyweight title defense as a head coach. įollowing on from Fury's knockout win over Wilder in the second fight, Fury retained Steward as his head coach for a trilogy fight between the two heavyweights. to prepare Fury for a planned trilogy fight with Deontay Wilder, despite hinting he would retire as a professional trainer after the second Wilder fight. In September 2020, Steward arrived in the U.K. He knew Tyson Fury would become a champion way back then." Īfter Fury's victory in a rematch against Deontay Wilder in February 2020, Steward paid tribute to his uncle, saying: "Emanuel Steward is smiling down from heaven. At the time, Steward's existing clients were less prominent fighters such as Shohjahon Ergashev and Apti Davtaev. Tyson Fury Īfter Fury parted ways with former trainer Ben Davison in December 2019, Steward was appointed as Fury's head trainer, despite having been in conversations with Fury to join the team in a different role. After Emanuel Steward died in 2012, SugarHill worked with some of his uncle's former fighters, including Adonis Stevenson, Anthony Dirrell and Charles Martin. Steward worked at his uncle's Kronk Gym, where he first met Tyson Fury in 2010. SugarHill changed his name to honor his uncle in 2019, explaining that he was like a father to him. He is the nephew of boxing trainer Emanuel Steward. SugarHill Steward (formerly known as Javan " Sugar" Hill) is an American professional boxing trainer and former Detroit police officer, former chef, best known as the trainer of heavyweight champion Tyson Fury.
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