The world of boxing has lost a true legend.  Emmanuel Steward was one of the greatest trainers in the history of the sport of boxing; an icon, and he will truly be missed.  Steward trained many great fighters including Thomas “hit man” Hearns, Oscar De La Hoya, Lenox Lewis and most recently, heavyweight champion, Vladimir Klitchko.  Steward was a throw back to a different era.  He was a great trainer but also a student of the sport.  There was a thoughtfulness about his commentary on HBO and he was always right on point.  HBO has huge shoes to fill.  I was recently invited to attend a training session at Kronk gym, Manny’s Gym in Detroit, but was unable to free up my schedule.  Now of course, I regret I didn’t attend.  We sometimes forget nothing lasts for ever, but I had planned on attending a future event, thinking there was plenty of time.  Manny was a very young sixty-eight.  Heavyweight champion Vladamir Klitchko said, ”It is not often that a person in any line of work gets a chance to work with a legend, well I was privileged enough to work with one for almost a decade.  I will miss our time together. The long talks about boxing, the world, and life itself. Most of all I will miss our friendship.”  As great a trainer as he was, he will probably most be remembered for Thomas Hearns’ knockout loss to Sugar Ray Leonard in the 14th round of their nostalgic 1981 bout.  Jim Lampley, his fellow commentator on HBO for over a decade said, ”He was the most loyal, generous, positive spirited, broadly accepting man I’ve ever known. He had a positive impact on everyone he encountered.”  Emmanuel Steward will be missed by everyone who ever saw a boxing match or appreciated the sweet science.  Steward’s name will forever be immortalized in boxing.