Legendary trainer Emanuel Steward held Floyd Mayweather in high regard but felt he would have met his match against two legends of the sport.
Steward began his long and successful career as a trainer during the early 1970s, working out of his world renowned Kronk Boxing Gym in Detroit, Michigan.
He would go on to train no less than 43 world champions throughout the course of his tenure, working with a number of generational greats such as Thomas Hearns, Wladimir Klitschko and Lennox Lewis to name just a few.
In an interview with Boxing 247 back in 2010, Steward didn’t hesitate to back Hearns and his rival Sugar Ray Leonard to ‘dominate’ the welterweight division, which was headed up by former pound-for-pound superstar Floyd Mayweather Jr.
“Beyond any doubt I think they would dominate [Mayweather’s era]. I think Tommy and Ray are superior fighters than the fighters today in the welterweight division.”
In another interview, Steward said:
“I have no doubt in my mind, out of respect to Mayweather, that he would never be a serious threat to me with Thomas Hearns.”
Hearns and Leonard were two parts of the Four Kings alongside Roberto Duran and Marvin Hagler. ‘The Hitman’ was an explosive puncher with incredible reach and speed, capable of delivering knockouts across multiple weight classes.
‘Sugar’ Ray combined dazzling speed, footwork, and ring IQ with toughness and adaptability, making him one of the most complete fighters of his era.
Mayweather drew the curtain on his career back in 2017, having captured world titles across five weight classes along the way, racking up victories over the likes of Canelo Alvarez, Oscar De La Hoya and Manny Pacquiao along the way.
The debate on how Mayweather would have fared during the same era as Leonard, Hearns, Hagler and Duran has gone on for many years, with fans and pundits left wondering whether ‘Money’ could have competed and been as successful as he was during the 2000s. Few would argue that Hearns, with his tall and long frame, would pose the defensive master some problems.
