Was there a bigger smile anywhere in the Hamburg Arena this Saturday than that of Wladimir Klitschko’s trainer Emanuel Steward?
Even the torrential rain couldn’t dampen the spirits of a man who proved once again that the 76-year-old boxing oracle is peerless in his chosen profession.
Wladimir Klitschko had completed his transformation from an awkward, stuttering giant with a suspect chin to a dominant, all-conquering heavyweight champion of the world.
A champion moulded by the evergreen Steward, the leader of that famous production line of champions, Detroit’s Kronk Gym. Steward has allied Klitschko’s natural physical gifts with a ring nous that makes him a supremely effective heavyweight.
Saturday night’s dismissal of the brash and arrogant David Haye was his finest hour in their six-year association.
His was a smile born not just out of satisfaction, but out of absolute, total familiarity.
You see, Emanuel Steward had been here before...
One night in Memphis
It had been nine years since the heavyweight division had seen an event of this magnitude. On the night in question, June 8 2002 , Steward watched on from the corner as his charge, Lennox Lewis, faced his nemesis Mike Tyson.
This was a defining moment for Lewis. Despite his dominance, he was still a target for some critics who labelled his style as one-dimensional.
There were also questions about his punch resistance. Twice during his career he’d been the victim of brutal knockouts against unfancied opponents (Oliver McCall and Hasim Rachman).
Never mind the fact that he’d gone on to avenge both defeats. Never mind that he’d beaten all the names the governing bodies had put in front of him; they were decried as a poor crop in a division that had once boasted iconic fighters such as Foreman, Ali and Holmes.
According to his remaining critics, if Lewis was ever to be mentioned in the same breath as these legends then he he’d have to do more than victories over journeymen challengers.
He needed a career-defining fight.
His victory over Evander Holyfield had earned him some long-awaited plaudits but was marred by whispers that Holyfield was already a fighter in terminal decline.
If Lewis was to silence those remaining doubters once and for all, he needed to beat the biggest puncher - and the biggest personality - that this sparse heavyweight landscape could offer.
He needed to beat Mike Tyson.
The build-up had been infamous for Tyson’s increasingly low-class attempts to rattle his normally unflappable foe. It had started badly with Tyson proclaiming of Lewis that he wanted to “eat his children”. It got worse when he then bit Lewis’s shin during an unseemly brawl in front of the world’s media.
The Briton remained typically dignified throughout, refusing to react to the baiting. With the wily Steward by his side, he was supremely confident in their gameplan to dispose of his arch-rival.
He was right.
Over eight utterly one-sided rounds, Lewis picked “Iron Mike” apart. Dominating behind the jab, the champion toyed with Tyson. He avoided the challenger’s wild attacks with ease before putting him out of his misery with a trademark right hand.
Two things happened that night; firstly, Lewis cemented his legacy as the greatest heavyweight of his era.
Secondly, Mike Tyson’s career as a top-class heavyweight was cruelly ended. He carried on, of course, but that night in Memphis
Doesn’t it all sound so incredibly familiar?
Back to the future
After his domination of David Haye, Wladimir Klitschko has proved himself, alongside brother Vitali, as the best of his generation.
His style may be unpalatable to some, but his record of 55 wins is truly remarkable. Whether he will ever be recognised as one of the great heavyweights to rank alongside Lewis and the other big names is entirely questionable.
Yet there is one fact that cannot, under any circumstance, ever be disputed.
Emanuel Steward is one of the finest trainers in the history of the sweet science.
He’s proved it in the past, the present...
...and he’ll prove it again in the future.
Ralph Welch
Twitter: @ralphwelch
No comments:
Post a Comment