He is constantly thinking of boxing and how he can improve his charges. He doesn’t so much walk down the street as shadow box from A to B. He had seen it all and imposed a winning mentality. When Billy Walsh was appointed, he immediately had the boxers’ respect. But most lads welcomed it and took on board as much as possible. It met with resistance from people used to doing things their own way. With the High Performance Unit we were lifting weights, doing Olympic lifts and undergoing strength and conditioning training.

We became aware of hydration, nutrition and psychology.įor years we were told boxers shouldn’t lift weights. We were training and preparing just as well, if not better, than the rest of the world’s boxers. We would go out at night to clubs and often drink. In the past, after you lost a fight and were out of the tournament, the trip turned into a holiday. One of the biggest things they changed was the attitude of the boxers. The country’s top amateur boxers trained full-time thanks to funding from the Irish Sports Council. Sometimes before a tournament you would go together to a training camp for a week or two before heading off to box the best fighters in the world. We would prepare for international tournaments individually in our own clubs, coming together on weekends to train with the appointed coach and spar with the other lads. In the past, Irish boxers were generalised for being strong, courageous, tough and having big hearts - but not for technical ability or skill. Gary Keegan had a vision to revolutionise Irish amateur boxing. To this day, I still practise some of the lessons I learned there. The influence of these three men and the philosophy of the High Performance Unit on the latter part of my amateur career was one of the main reasons I qualified for the 2004 Olympics. It was my first year in the senior squad and my dream then was to reach the 2004 Olympic games. It changed the way Irish amateur boxers lived and trained. In 2003, Billy Walsh and Zaur Antia were appointed head coach and technical coach to the Irish national boxing team by Director Gary Keegan as part of the new High Performance Unit.

After that, the only man that can help you is your coach. NCAA Baseball Bracket, Hurricanes vs.When fight-time comes and you stand in the ring, just before you walk to the centre to hear the referee’s final instructions, your promoter, manager and the rest of your team touch you on the gloves, wish you luck and leave the ring.Top 5 Biggest Surprises in Major League Baseball… so Far.He is deeply missed in the sport of Boxing. I knew Emanuel Steward as a commentator first than as the Boxing trainer. He had so much knowledge of the sport of Boxing. This is where I started becoming a fan of Emanuel Steward. Aside from being a trainer, he spend years as a commentator for HBO Boxing. Steward also trained other great fighters like Evander Holyfield, Miguel Cotto and Wladimir Klitschko. Steward did some amazing corner work in that fight. Their most memorable moment together was in the most anticipated fight of the decade: Lewis vs. Emanuel corrected several of Lewis’ mistakes and guided him into a hall of fame career. Hearns was Steward’s most successful fighter.Įmanuel would also train heavyweight Lennox Lewis. Together, they would go on to be part of many fights against boxers such as Sugar Ray Leonard, Roberto Duran, and Marvelous Marvin Hagler. They had a close relationship like a father and son. Steward was instrumental in changing Hearns from a lightweight puncher to one of the most devastating punchers in Boxing. His breakout star would be Thomas “The Hitman” Hearns. Kronk Gym became a property of Steward’s and trained many of the nation’s top amateurs. Steward trained 41 world champion fighters throughout his career. Emanuel Steward is one of the most decorated boxing trainers ever.

Emanuel steward trained