“With a prime Lennox Lewis against a prime Holyfield and a prime Mike Tyson, I think Lennox would have still beaten both of them”– Emanuel Steward
 Exclusive Interview by Geoffrey Ciani - With his vast wealth of knowledge, experience, and an amazing track record of success, Emanuel Steward is undoubtedly one of the greatest trainers the sport of boxing has ever seen. Steward has trained and/or managed 41 World Champions, including the reigning heavyweight king Wladimir Klitschko. Steward’s success with training heavyweight fighters, in particular for world championship fights, is simply impeccable. I had the opportunity to speak with Steward regarding his first hand experiences training one of the most celebrated and successful boxers he ever worked with—former undisputed world heavyweight champion, Lennox Lewis (41-2-1, 32 KOs). Steward and Lewis teamed up together 18 times during Lewis’ professional career during a stretch where he went 16-1-1 with 11 wins coming by way of knockout. Steward shared his unique perspective and personal insight into one of the greatest heavyweight champions to ever lace up the gloves, as he discussed Lewis’ career at great length. This is Part Three of an ongoing series with Emanuel that will explore past champions, historical fights, mythical match-ups, great rivalries, memorable fighters, and Steward’s own personal experiences as a world class trainer. Here is what the Hall of Fame trainer had to say:
Lennox Lewis as an Amateur and 1988 Olympic Gold Medalist:
I saw Lennox Lewis box on an amateur boxing show we had here in Michigan one time, maybe about ’82 or something. He was a skinny gangly kid. He was not that super well coordinated, but there was something about him that you could see then was different. He knew how to win fights! He may have been a little sloppy, but he did whatever he had to do to win. He was raised right here in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada, which is only about three hours away from Detroit. So he would sometimes come to Michigan trying to get amateur fights back and forth when he was in the amateur program over there.
He didn’t start boxing until he was 12 years old when he came from England to join his mother, who had came ahead of him, Violet. She was living in Kitchener. So she had saved up money, but she had to leave him, when I think he was about like 10 or 11, in the orphanage when she had to come over and try to get a job. So she finally saved enough money and brought him here, and when he got here he was about 12 years. She told me when he got off the plane she could not believe how tall he had grown in the time since she had left him. From that point on she said regardless of what happened in her life, she was never going to separate from Lennox again—and that’s why you see the love that he always had for his mother, because it was very, very touching what she had to go through just to get him here after she had to leave him at a certain time. That’s also why Lennox has always been so good about going back and working with the foundations and different types of boys’ homes back in England. continue
London, Great Britain, 2 August 2012 - The evening session of the fifth day of competition at the London 2012 Olympic Games saw the Bantam (56kg), Heavy (91kg) and Super Heavyweights (91+kg) once again take to the ring at the ExCeL arena where the atmosphere was absolutely electric. continue
Tomasz Adamek, 46-2, 28 KO's, will defend his IBF North American Heavyweight title on Saturday afternoon, September 8th at Prudential Center in Newark, NJ when he takes on Travis Walker, 39-7-1, 31 KO's. continue
London, Great Britain, 2 August 2012 - After reviewing the video of Bout #105 involving Bantamweights Satoshi Shimizu (Japan) and Magomed Abdulhamidov (Azerbaijan), the Competition Jury made the following decision: continue
By Ben Hoskin: Many column inches have been spent discussing the larger than life character that is Floyd Mayweather Junior. He divides opinion like no other partly due to his extravagance but mostly because he still has that unbeaten resume which all boxers in close proximity to his weight want to tarnish. continue
August 1, 2012 - During a press conference at Embassy Suites, San Juan Hotel & Casino, Universal Promotions announced the upcoming pro boxing event "Night of Champions", to be held on Friday, August 31st, 2012, at the Guillermo Angulo Coliseum in Carolina, Puerto Rico. continue
By Vitali Shaposhnikov: It seems as though Nonito Donaire’s fight against his supposed future opponent Jorge Arce might not actually end up happening. Donaire has been stedily aining popularity in the sport of boxing, and despite being pretty much on top, it has not yet peaked. continue
Undefeated Lightweight southpaw Mercito “No Mercy” Gesta (25-0-1, 13 KOs) will meet Ty Barnett (20-2-1, 13 KOs) August 3 in the 10-round main event on ESPN’s Friday Night Fights presented by Corona Extra. Friday’s show will air at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN2 HD, ESPN Deportes, and ESPN3 from Las Vegas. The card is presented by Top Rank Promotions. continue
By Vitali Shaposhnikov: I was wondering what the various boxing promoters think and would say about the TMT Promotions recently formed by 50 Cent and Floyd Mayweather Jr. We have seen many promoters and promotional companies come and go, and only know a few to be dominating in driving the sport of boxing. At some point in time, Don King was the biggest kid on the block in that respect, but those times are long gone, with Bob Arum’s Top Rank and Oscar De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions being the two of the controlling bodies in boxing. continue
(LONDON, ENGLAND) – Team USA endured a difficult day on Wednesday at the Olympic Games as three American boxers lost their bouts to amateur boxing powerhouses. Bantamweight Joseph Diaz, Jr. (S. El Monte, Calif.) fell to Cuban World Champion Lazaro Alvarez Estrada with heavyweight Michael Hunter (Las Vegas, Nev.) and super heavyweight Dominic Breazeale (Alhambra, Calif.) both falling to Russian opponents. continue
By James Slater: Retired heavyweight great Lennox Lewis, a fighter who really did it all (Olympic glory, all manner of other amateur titles, three-time world ruler), gave a fascinating interview with Mail Online this week, in which he spoke about a number of things heavyweight-related. continue
By James Slater: Back in 2008, at the Beijing Olympics, America managed to bring home just one solitary medal in the boxing category: current unbeaten heavyweight hope Deontay Wilder winning a bronze. And ever since the lack of success at Beijing, America vowed to make up for it in future games. continue
London, Great Britain, 1 August 2012 - Three weight categories took to the canvas on day five of the boxing competition at the London 2012 Olympic Games with four Bantam (56kg), three Heavy (91kg) and four Super Heavyweight (91+kg) boutsin the afternoon session at the ExCeL Arena. continue
By Julius Stecker:
Robert Guerrero Deserves a Super Fight
Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero (30-1-1) demonstrated once again this past Saturday that he is one of boxing’s best technicians. He jumped 2 weight classes from 135 to 147 to defeat previously undefeated Selcuk Aydin(23-1) for the interim 147 WBC title. It was an extremely gutty and excellent performance by Guerrero. continue
World Boxing Organization (WBO) World Lightweight Champion Ricky Burns and challenger Kevin Mitchell may be good friends, but that isn't stopping them promise to put on one of the most brutal fights in recent years. continue
New York, NY (7/31/12) - Earlier today, at New York City's famed Jack Demsey's Bar and Restaurant, DiBella Entertainment hosted the final press conference for their upcoming Broadway Boxing card this Thursday held at Roseland Ballroom. Gracing the presser was main event participant and DBE's red-hot undefeated super middleweight contender Thomas "Tommy Gun" Oosthuizen (19-0-1, 13 KO's), all the way from South Africa. He will square off against Florida's Rowland Bryant (16-1, 11KO's) in a 12-round clash in defense of his International Boxing Organization (IBO) title. Also present was "Irish" Seanie Monaghan (14-0, 9 KO's), of Long Beach, NY, who will look to keep his perfect record intact when he takes on the always-tough George Armenta (14-9, 11 KO's) in a 10-round light heavyweight co-feature bout. Undercard participants Floriano "L'Italiano" Pagliara (13-4-1, 7 KO's) and former New York amateur standout Zach Ochoa (1-0, 1KO) also attended. continue
By Ben Hoskin: The past weekend saw Robert Guerrero win an interim title with a close decision over the previously unbeaten Selcuk Aydin. With this victory a clamour has arisen for “The Ghost” to challenge the soon to be released Floyd Mayweather for the proper title. Should such an event take place? continue
London, Great Britain, 1 August 2012 - Philippines' new boxing sensation, two-time Sydney Jackson Memorial Tournament winner Mark Anthony Barriga is really making a name for himself after defeating world class rivals in recent months and impressing at the London 2012 Olympic Games. continue
London, Great Britain, 1 August 2012 - Boxing continued with the evening session at the ExCeL arena on day four of the London 2012 Olympic Games as the remaining eleven Men's Light Fly (46-49kg) and Light Welterweight (64kg) bouts went ahead. The capacity crowd was once again treated to a pugilistic feast. continue
PHILADELPHIA (July 31, 2012)— World Boxing Organization (WBO) number-two ranked Jr. Welterweight contender Ruslan Provodnikov is looking to take on any of the champions or top contenders in his next bout and feels he is just an opportunity away from becoming a world champion. continue
This Saturday night, Erik Morales’ Box Latino, Promociones del Pueblo, HG Boxing, Corona and Televisa join forces to present a world title fight between International Boxing Federation (IBF) junior flyweight champion John Riel Casimero of the Philippines and hometown hero Pedro “Pedrin” Guevara from the Convention Center in Mazatlan, Sinaloa, Mexico. The twelve round main event billed as “Furia en Mazatlan” will be televised live in Mexico on Televisa’s weekly boxing series “Sabados de Corona”. continue
Boucherville, Tuesday, July 31st 2012 – After weeks of negotiations, InterBox finally came to terms with Team Ali Chebah thereby avoiding an International Boxing Federation (IBF) purse bid called for next week. IBF Intercontinental 140-pound champion Pier-Olivier « Apou » Cote (19-0-0, 13 KO) will face Ali « The Angel » Chebah (33-2-0, 26 KO) on Saturday, November 3rd at the Montreal Bell Centre. This much anticipated matchup will take place on the undercard of the Boxing Gala featuring Lucian Bute vs. undefeated Denis Grachev. continue
London, Great Britain, 31 July 2012 - Day four of the London 2012 Olympic Games and it was the turn of the Men's Light Fly (46-49kg) and Light Welterweight (64kg) to step on to the ring in the first round of preliminaries at the ExCeL arena. The afternoon session bore witness to eleven pulsating contests. continue
(LONDON, ENGLAND) – Light welterweight Jamel Herring (Coram, N.Y./United States Marine Corps) dropped his first round contest to Kazakhstan’s Daniyar Yeleussinov on Tuesday afternoon at the 2012 Olympic Games in London. Yeleussinov won a 19-9 decision over Herring, a Sergeant in the United States Marine Corps, eliminating him from the tournament. continue
By Chip Mitchell: It’s been said if a team has two quarterbacks who get equal playing time, that team really has no quarterback. Just as one quarterback develops a little consistency and begins to gain confidence, the other quarterback is called in to satisfy his quota of playing time. There is no consistency in leadership. There is no foundation. The team becomes divided in its loyalties to each guy. Neither quarterback has a place to call home. continue
July 31, 2012 - Fight fans eager for a unique inside look at the powerhouse Sept. 15th HBO Pay-Per-View® middleweight world championship fight between rising undefeated superstar Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. and the exceptional pound-for-pound ace Sergio Martinez should mark their calendars to catch an all-new edition of "Face Off," starring the two prizefighters. “Face Off With Max Kellerman: Chavez Jr./Martinez” debuts Saturday, Aug. 25 at 12:45 a.m. (ET/PT) on HBO. continue
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