![]() “I’m just going to let the fight unfold.” “I’m in it to win it,” is all he would say, repeatedly, even when asked about Holyfield’s unqualified prediction of a third-round KO. “Evander always wanted to fight Mike Tyson, and Lennox always wanted to fight Evander Holyfield.”īut wanting is not the same as getting, and listening to Lewis after a brief and none-too-strenuous workout yesterday afternoon, it was tough to get the feeling that Lewis has been burning for this one. “Every fighter always has one fight that he really wants,” Steward said. He cannot say the same for Lewis, not with any certainty. He could show up and all of a sudden become an old man.”īut Steward knows as well as anyone that no matter how old Holyfield shows up, he is still going to show up brave, looking to mix and willing to die, if necessary. “But we don’t know which Evander Holyfield will show up, either. “I don’t know which Lennox Lewis will show up,” he admitted. “Even with the guy crying, he was still reluctant,” Steward said yesterday. That combination added up, predictably, to a first-round KO for Lewis and a mighty pleased Steward.īut there have been other nights, most notably the night Oliver McCall dissolved in tears in front of Lewis without getting hit by a punch – that Steward has left the arena shaking his head. – he likes to whip his horse right out of the gate and not stop until a few strides past the finish line – effectively juiced up Lewis for his fight against Andrew Golota, who was scared to death to begin with. Steward, boxing’s equivalent of Angel Cordero Jr. Steward did not complete the thought as it applied to Lewis, but you get the idea. He came to fight every night, win or lose.” “Completely different fighters,” Steward acknowledged. If the quintessential Steward fighter is Tommy Hearns – fearless, instinctive, eager, even a little reckless – Lennox Lewis is Hearns’ flip side and Evander Holyfield is his bigger cousin. In fact, you get the feeling he would be a lot more confident if he were in the other corner. That is why even though he says, “This is Lennox’ last opportunity, and I think he’s gonna shine,” he is not exactly brimming over with confidence about his fighter’s chances. Pick your favorite Lennox Lewis flaw: Hesitation, overthinking, passivity. “I don’t like that chess ,” Steward said. “I hope he’s not coming in here with his chessboard,” Steward said, referring not only to Lewis’ between-fights hobby, but his unfortunate in-ring habit of thinking first, punching later. Put it this way: If Holyfield treats Lewis as roughly, Steward will be looking for another job Sunday morning. Honesty doesn’t play as well in the dressing room as it does in the sports pages.Īnd when assessing the enigma that is Lennox Lewis, Steward is often brutally honest. ![]() If that sounds like less than a ringing endorsement, you are coming to understand why Emanuel Steward gets fired by so many fighters but remains beloved by so many fight writers. There’s no way I’m gonna work with anyone who’s going to lose a fight as a coward.” “But even if he loses, he’s gonna give a great fight. “I think he should win it,” Steward continued. “I just feel that if Lennox fights up to his potential, he’s too big and powerful for this guy.” “I’m happy with the fight, and with my fighter,” Steward said yesterday. Steward is training Lewis for his challenge – and even though his closet holds a heavyweight title belt, make no mistake, Lewis is the challenger in this one – to Holyfield in what some people believe will be the best title fight in the room since Ali and Frazier hashed things out 28 years ago this week. ![]() In any event, Holyfield and Steward, men of similar styles and similar tastes in everything but financial matters, will be on opposite sides of the big argument Saturday night at the Garden. Seems that Steward likes to get paid a percentage of his fighter’s purse and Holyfield prefers to negotiate what he considers a reasonable fee, but then, what do you expect from a guy who has his wedding reception at Shoney’s? Problem is, Steward and Evander Holyfield danced a few years ago but the partnership lasted only a couple of numbers before the two went their separate ways. In fact, it is Lewis’ opponent who is much more Steward’s type. “Lennox is a different kind of fighter,” Steward says. LENNOX Lewis is not Emanuel Steward’s kind of fighter.įor one thing, he plays chess in his spare time.įor another, he has to be coaxed to do what the prototypical Emanuel Steward considers businessas usual – jump all over an opponent until either the referee pulls him off or the paramedics carry him out.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |