Hearns wants original Kronk Gym re-opened for Steward

• Thomas Hearns recorded 61 victories in his Hall of Fame career
• Emanuel Steward trained Hearns at the old Kronk Gym in Detroit
• Hearns said he misses Steward, who was like a father to him, after the train died Thursday at 68

DETROIT -- The eyes of the Motor City Cobra told it all.

They were dulled by pain, reddened by tears.Tommy Hearns sat on the edge of the boxing ring at the Kronk Gym on West Warren, those normally piercing brown eyes the gateway now to a broken heart.

His friend, his mentor -- the man he looked at as a father -- was gone, and there was nothing the battle-scarred warrior could do about it.

Hearns, 53, one of the greatest fighters the world has known, was without his trainer, Emanuel Steward, who died Thursday in the Chicago area after battling what was thought to be colon cancer -- alone for the first time since he was a skinny kid skipping rope at the old Kronk Gym on McGraw in Detroit.

Hearns, who finished his legendary pro career with a record of 61 wins, five losses, one draw and 48 knockouts, had come to the gym to share his grief with other Kronk boxers and trainers who had gathered at the building.

In an unexpected and emotional twist, as Hearns and a dozen others around him attempted to come to grips with the loss of Steward, the Godfather of Detroit boxing and the driving force behind the Kronk, the facility was locked up at the direction of Steward's sister, Diane Steward-Jones, who ordered Kronk signage outside taken down and boxing memorabilia inside taken away.

Hearns, who terrorized opponents in six different weight classes, watched as workmen dismantled the latest version of the gym he helped make famous.

"I'm feeling a large gap -- a gaping hole," said Hearns looking down at the gym floor. "There's a burning inside (me). Every time I think of Emanuel, there's a burning sensation in my heart."

Hearns was distracted for a moment by a ladder being placed outside the Kronk to take down the red and gold signature sign of the gymnasium.

"I really don't know what's going on -- I have no idea," Hearns said. "All I know is that Emanuel wanted things to keep moving. I'm willing to work all the way, not just part-way, in helping Emanuel's dreams."

There is talk of a new Kronk location in Southfield, but Friday was not time to discuss this with the Hit Man. His thoughts were with his trainer, whose health and whereabouts had been cloaked in secrecy by family over the past couple months.

"I was too late to see him (before he died)," Hearns said. "I missed out, man ... I missed out ... and it hurts me. I know in my heart I should have been there. The man changed my life. He made me a different person. I owe him a great deal.

"If there was anything that could be done to honor Steward now, Hearns said, it would be to reopen the original Kronk, which was closed by the city because of financial hardship in 2006.

"The City of Detroit, the State of Michigan -- if they could clean up the building on McGraw and reopen the gym there, it would be awesome," Hearns said. "It would make Emanuel proud and happy. We would be doing it all again."

Hearns stared at a heavy punching bag hanging from the ceiling. He used to make it dance with his left jab and right hand.

"Manny told me as a kid, I'd be a world champion one day," Hearns said. "Emanuel was like my father. He molded me, shaped me. Manny had the eye.

"His greatest fight with Steward in his corner, Hearns said, was, oddly enough, a draw in his second fight with Ray Leonard in 1989 in Las Vegas, when Hearns had Leonard down in the third and 11th rounds.

"Emanuel knew the ability I had as a boxer," Hearns said. "He knew I could outbox Ray, and I did. It meant everything to me.

"Hearns said the last time he saw Steward was at his old trainer's house in Rosedale Park, as Steward was beginning to feel ill.

"We talked for about an hour or more," Hearns said. "He was having a problem, but he didn't tell me so much that he had cancer. Then he was gone ... to have treatment.

"Before he walked out of the Kronk Gym on West Warren, possibly for the last time, Hearns looked at some remaining photos of him and Steward on the walls -- in the good old days.

"I have a great deal of love for him," Hearns said as he turned and walked through the front door of the Kronk and out onto the street. "He was a daddy to me. I want to say, 'From your son, Thomas, I truly miss you already, Emanuel. I love you.' "

Brudenell writes for the Detroit Free Press