Boxing legend Emanuel Steward is arguably the greatest trainer of all time, but before his passing in 2012, he picked out who he believed to have been the greatest heavyweight of all time and explained why.
The founder of Detroit’s fabled ‘Kronk’ gym, Steward trained over 40 world champions during his time in the sport, famously guiding Thomas Hearns to superstardom, but also working with heavyweight icons such as Lennox Lewis and Wladimir Klitschko.
Kronk boasts 10 heavyweight world champions to date, with SugarHill Steward, nephew of Emanuel, recently training Tyson Fury and memorably masterminding his return to glory when he knocked out Deontay Wilder in sensational fashion to win the WBC title.
When analysing the heavyweight division, in an interview with Bokser, Emanuel Steward admitted that, in his eyes, Muhammad Ali has to be considered the greatest heavyweight of all time, due the calibre of opposition that he faced and defeated.
“I would say Ali [is the greatest]. You have got to remember what he actually did in his performances against the best. In any business, whether you are a journalist or whatever, how do you compete with the best?
“He fought some of the best, in their prime, so he would be the number one [heavyweight, for me].”
Although, Steward went on to credit the other standout heavyweight candidate, Joe Louis, stating that the ‘Brown Bomber’ may well have been the division’s best champion, but that he believes Ali would have overcome him.
“Joe Louis would be the greatest champion, because of what he meant to the world, particularly when they had the war going on and for the black race, for 25 defences in 11 years.
“For all of those qualities, he would still be in people’s mind as the greatest champion because he is the emotional champion.
“Off of in-the-ring performances, I would say that Ali would have beaten him. In their own [ways], they are both the two top fighters.”
