WITH the writing already on the wall for Pepe Correa before the defeat by Oliver McCall, it was no surprise when Lewis dismissed him. The search to find a suitable replacement began, with the names of Tommy Brooks, George Benton and Emanuel Steward all prominent.
Although Lewis met with George Benton in London and was very impressed with him, he was actually extremely keen on hiring Steward, the man who had masterminded his downfall. After talking to him, Lewis was even more eager to work with Steward. However, Steward was not only expensive but when he worked with a fighter on a long-term basis he also liked to have a role in the management side as well. Due to this, Lewis’s handlers were naturally not as keen on the American as Lennox was.
Eventually, and somewhat reluctantly, Lewis agreed to go for another American in the form of Thell Torrence and a deal with him was struck. But Lewis remained resolute in his convictions and the deal was subsequently scrapped. On 27 January 1995, Lewis’s handlers agreed to a long-term deal with Steward, which included a manager’s role. But in taking up the position, Steward was himself giving up things that could have been beneficial to him financially, mainly his association with Don King. This, of course, meant him leaving his role with McCall and forfeiting the opportunity of working with Mike Tyson on his eventual release from prison. Despite this, Steward had openly stated he considered Lewis to be the best heavyweight out there.
Born the son of a coalminer in Bottom Creek, West Virginia, on 7 July 1944, Steward moved to Detroit with his mother at the age of 12, where he started boxing at the Brewster Recreational Center, world-renowned as the place where the legendary Joe Louis honed his skills. He eventually went on to amass a tremendous amateur tally of 98 fights with only three losses, a record that saw him become the 1963 bantamweight National Golden Gloves champion at the age of only 18. Even though the natural progression for Steward would have been to turn professional, he could not find a management package that suited his needs and instead took a job as an electrician with the Detroit Edison Company.
However, he never lost his love of boxing. In 1971, he took his half-brother James to a local gymnasium to show him a few moves. The gym in question was a rather drab-looking one situated in the basement of a recreation centre on the near south-east side of Detroit. As he continued to attend, he used the knowledge he had from his own amateur days to get himself involved with the training programme there. Soon, he became a part-time coach at what was known as the Kronk boxing team and with his help they went on to win the 1971 Detroit Golden Gloves competition.
In March 1972, Steward then became the full-time trainer and manager at the Kronk gym. After turning his attentions to professional boxing, his first world champion was crowned on 2 March 1980 courtesy of the lightweight Hilmer Kenty, who successfully relieved the Venezuelan Ernesto Espana of his WBA title by a ninth-round stoppage.
Since then, Steward had gone on to work with numerous top-ranked and world championship-level fighters, including the legendary Thomas ‘Hitman’ Hearns. Of particular interest to Lewis was that he had been instrumental in helping Evander Holyfield secure an unexpected points victory over Riddick Bowe in November 1993, as well as McCall’s unhinging of Lewis himself. It was hoped that he would be able to use his vast knowledge and knowhow to get Lewis’s career back on track as soon as possible.