Other than that, not much
has been going on in his personal or professional life.
He says with a chuckle, “It's
been kind of crazy; it's hard to put it into words actually. The last
two-and-a-half weeks have been some emotional days, some sad days, some
uplifting days, some hard training days. It's really a big mixture of a lot of
things.”
Going back a month or two,
as Steward laid ill in Chicago, unable to attend Klitschko's training camp in
Austria, he tapped his protégé to lead the heavyweight king for their November
10th bout with challenger Mariusz Wach. He was given the reins to Steward's
most well-known client seemingly out of nowhere.
“I was surprised,” admitted Banks, who for years worked in the camp as not only
an assistant but a sparring partner, “but yet I wasn't because as long as we
have all been together, when Emanuel would leave a lot of times do his [HBO] broadcasts,
he would tell Wladimir, ‘Listen, if you don't want to spar, you don't have to
box while I'm gone. If you do want to spar, Johnathon will be here. So it's OK;
Johnathon's here so I'm not worried about nothing. Just let Johnathon handle
everything.’ He always said that and I didn't pay too much attention to it. But
to be the first name to come out his mouth, for it to be me, to be in charge -
till we all thought he'd get better - it was just amazing. I don't have words
for it. It's something else.”
Like many others, Banks believed
Steward would return soon enough. It stunned the boxing world when it was
announced that he had passed away so suddenly. To many, Steward was
everlasting; the thought of him dying so soon was never even broached. It just
didn't seem possible. “It took everyone by surprise,” admitted Banks, who was among
the first to be notified. “I mean, it's Emanuel. So everyone thought they were
going to see Emanuel again. We were saying, ‘Ain’t nothing going to happen to
Emanuel; it's Emanuel.’ But I mean, it took everyone by surprise definitely.”
While the boxing world
mourned the loss of the iconic Steward (who turned the Kronk Gym into an
international brand), there was still work to be done in Austria as Banks would
have to pull unprecedented double-duty as a boxer and trainer.
“We both trained twice a day, so therefore, I trained at least two-and-a-half
hours before he started,” Banks recalled. “So by the time [Klitschko] got
there, I'd be finished and then I could train him. Same thing for the afternoon
session.” Asked if this schedule drained him physically or mentally, Banks
laughs and says, “Both, really. I mean, that's the best thing about it. I slept
like a baby every night because I'm telling you; it's draining because you take
it so serious that I'm breaking down his opponent. I'm doing the strategy,
strategizing with him and I'm creating a strategy for myself at night for what
we're going to do the next day, what the opponent may or may not do. It's
draining, mentally. Yes, it is.”
When asked about the impact Steward
had on him, the 30-year old Banks, who has a professional ledger of 28-1-1 (18),
stated, “You're talking about someone who taught me the game of boxing, taught
me about boxing, who put me around the key players in boxing. Emanuel was the
one who introduced me to Wladimir back in 2004 when he first got with him. So I
mean, the effect he had on me was a life effect. It's like that story they
always say, the analogy, ‘If you give a man a fish, he eats for a day. You
teach him how to fish, he eats for a lifetime.’ Emanuel actually gave me the
tools to eat for a lifetime.”
While Steward is gone, Banks
believes Kronk will live on.
“I think so; I think we had proof
of it last Saturday with Wladimir," said Banks, pointing out Klitschko's
wide victory over Wach in Hamburg, Germany. “I believe the Kronk will stay
alive because of the teaching of Emanuel. I was able to carry on with Wladimir
because of the teachings of Emanuel. Other fighters will be able to carry on
because of that teaching as well. So yes, I do believe it's still alive.”
Banks, who plans to train
fighters full-time when his career is finished, also runs a mentoring program
for the youth in Detroit. He says, “One of the things I learned from Emanuel is
if you have a gift, you must use it. There's not very many people with the
ability to teach something. And if that's the ability you have - you must use
it. Because that's what he did. Emanuel loved to teach and I learned that from
him and I got the same love to want to teach from him. He's the one who
inspired me a few years ago to start this mentoring thing I'm doing.”
It's been a bit of a
whirlwind for Banks, who attended the memorial service for Steward on Tuesday
and arrived in Atlantic City on Wednesday. The journey ends with him facing the
heavily hyped Mitchell, who's had to focus on just the fight itself.
Regardless, Banks says he's ready to go.
“100 percent,” he said.
MEMORIAL
On Tuesday afternoon, the
memorial service for Steward was held at the Greater Grace Temple in Detroit.
It was estimated that around 3,000 people showed up to pay their respects and
there were hordes of media and the Detroit
Free Press made it its headline story on the front page the next day. It
shows the impact this man had - not only in the sport of boxing but to this
city and region.
“It's a start,” said Banks. “It
doesn't speak volumes. There are homes - where a lot of people don't even know
Emanuel - that have food in their houses because of him. There's actually
people who have no payments on their houses to this day because of him. So the
impact that he had, the 3,000, it didn't even touch the impact that he had. He
had such a huge impact.”
It wasn't just the world of
boxing that showed up to pay its respects (from the Klitschko brothers, Lennox
Lewis, Michael Moorer, Evander Holyfield, Sugar Ray Leonard, Mark Breland, Iran
Barkley, Hilmer Kenty, Milton McCrory and Bob Arum) or Steward’s colleagues at
HBO (including Larry Merchant, Max Kellerman and Jim Lampley - who gave a
stirring tribute to Steward that had the audience on its feet at the end). There
were luminaries such as former NBA star and Detroit mayor Dave Bing; Judge Greg
Mathis (yes, the one from television) was present to say a few words and the
great Aretha Franklin sang in his honor. It was a proper tribute befitting a
man of his stature and achievements.
“It was surreal being there,” said Banks, “and yet still,
you smile and say, ‘Wow, all of these people are here for a man that I know
personally. A man that I lived with, a man I grew up around. A man who also
taught me all these things.’ So it was surreal and yet it was a privilege. I
was so privileged to be amongst that company.”
The most emotional and
poignant moment of this day came from hearing Thomas Hearns (who will always be
attached at the hip historically with Steward) address the audience. Hearns
could barely contain his emotions and speak about his former trainer, who he
described as his father and credited with teaching him, “how to be a man.” His
son, Ronald, and brother, Billy, had to run up to the pulpit to basically hold
him up. You got the sense that this moment was tougher for Hearns than facing Leonard
or Marvin Hagler ever was. You can get over losing fights; losing someone who
meant so much to your life isn't nearly as easy. But urged on by the large throng,
Hearns was able to finish and go the distance.
Emanuel
would've been proud.
KRONK FLURRIES
I finally had a chance to meet
the first champion to represent Kronk, Kenty, who I never knew was actually
from Columbus, Ohio and not Detroit. Hilmer is a real gentleman as is Mark Breland,
who I had an opportunity to chat with later on...There were a group of kids who
had on their Kronk paraphernalia (from shirts to letterman jackets) in
attendance at the memorial service. I really hope they didn't lose a refuge the
Kronk provided them from the street life. It's in them that the Kronk legacy -
and Steward's - will live on...Word is that both Gabriel Rosado and Fernando
Guerrero are in the running to face Gennady Golovkin on January 19th.
I hear some at HBO favor Rosado because he's on a nice run recently. And others
favor Guerrero because, well...he's with Al Haymon...Banks weighed in at 218.5
pounds on Friday and Mitchell tipped the scales at 242...According to the CSAC,
the Abner Mares-Anselmo Moreno card at the Staples Center last weekend sold
4,785 tickets, doled out 1,156 comps and had a gate receipt of $306,565...Can
UCLA finally beat USC again?...Saturday night’s plan is to hit the L.A. Sports
Arena for the Brian Viloria-Hernan Marquez scrap and then watch the HBO card...
