Emanuel Steward says fighter is ‘greatest sporting hero in Mexican history’

What separates the greats from the truly greats? When it came to Mexico’s number one contender, Emanuel Steward believed the answer was written in moments: the fights that define a career and elevate a fighter above his peers.

Widely regarded as one of the best boxing trainers ever known, Steward oversaw a conveyor belt of champions forged in the unforgiving Kronk Gym, where only the toughest survived. His influence extended far beyond Detroit, leading him to work with heavyweight greats Lennox Lewis and Wladimir Klitschko, and making him the first American trainer to guide Mexican icon Julio Cesar Chavez.

Steward worked with Chavez for several weeks before his rematch against Frankie Randall in 1994 and, in an interview with Geoffrey Ciani published in 2011, explains in detail why he considers Chávez Mexico the greatest fighter of all time.

“I think as a boxer he gained his notoriety through his major accomplishments in big fights. You might be good, but you have to have those iconic fights in your career that really mark your greatness. I would say probably the first with Meldrick Taylor –– it couldn’t have been more dramatic than that, to come back in a fight in which he was trailing and score by knockout with two seconds remaining.

“To beat [Edwin] Rosario was a very special thing because of the Mexican and Puerto Rican rivalry. He beat him, which was very important for all the Mexican people. Then he beat [Hector] Camacho. He came back and beat Frankie Randall, although where they stopped the fight was controversial. Then he eliminated Meldrick Taylor on the return with him. Meldrick wasn’t what he used to be, but there was still a lot of interest and intrigue in this fight.

Beyond the in-ring exploits, Steward was struck by the extraordinary adoration Chavez inspired in his native country – an experience that left a lasting impression on one of boxing’s most traveled and respected figures.

“He is perhaps the greatest sports hero, not just a boxer, in the history of Mexico. I have never seen anyone be analyzed as much as him. It even surpassed Muhammad Ali. Just on the highways, people would drive their cars and almost crash just trying to touch his car.

“One time when he was coming out of the stadium, while we were at a bullfight, people were letting people know he was coming. There were probably about 1,000 people in the parking lot when the car pulled up and when he walked into the arena, their picture was on the big screen. Each of the guys who was a bullfighter had to tip their hat up so it was tossed in the air so they could catch it before each bullfight, and when he left, they were showing on the screen and the whole stadium went crazy. I’ve never seen anything like it before.

For Steward, greatness was never just about titles or technique. In Chavezhe saw a fighter who delivered defining moments in the sport – and whose presence transcended boxing itself, making him a national symbol unlike anything he had encountered before.