Latest news with #KronkGym
CBS News
4 days ago
- Sport
- CBS News
Historic Kronk boxing gym makes long-awaited return to Detroit
A legendary boxing institution is making its return to Detroit. The Brewster Wheeler Recreation Center is home to some of the greats in boxing, including Mike Tyson and Joe Lewis, who trained there. It is now the new location for the legendary Kronk Gym. CBS Detroit "Detroit gave KRONK to the world, and now Kronk is giving back to the future of Detroit," said Kronk CEO Paul Bhatti. Founded by Detroit native Emanuel Steward, a boxing fighter and trainer, Kronk Gym is returning to the Motor City. "I think Kronk has a tremendous past, and I think this looks to the future and what champions we're going to inspire," said Kronk's first world boxing champion, Hilmer Kenty. CBS Detroit It's one of the most notable boxing gyms in history and a platform that will provide mentorship and opportunity. "For the youth, a sense of self, a sense of strength. It teaches skills not only in the ring but outside of the ring for them to just flourish," said International Boxing Hall of Fame inductee Mary Jo Sanders. CBS Detroit Kronk is the training ground for 41 world champions and is committed to keeping the spirit of its founder, Steward, alive. "That's the main thing…it's not all about your backyard, there's a world out there," said Emanuel Steward's daughter, Sylvia Steward-Williams. "Kronk is not just a brand, it's a symbol of discipline, excellence and heart," said Bhatti. The gym plans to reopen this summer.
Washington Post
4 days ago
- Sport
- Washington Post
Famed Kronk boxing gym to reopen in Detroit rec center where Joe Louis once trained
DETROIT — The Kronk Gym where Detroit boxing royalty sweated on the road to glory is expected to reopen this summer in a building where Hall of Famer Joe Louis once trained. The Brewster Wheeler Recreation Center will be the gym's new home, city leaders and the team behind the project told reporters Wednesday. The room that housed the gym where Louis trained remains in the building's basement. But the center had become so dilapidated that it faced a wrecking ball about a decade ago, Mayor Mike Duggan said. Duggan said he was urged to pause the demolition order by some who wanted to preserve the building's history and its importance to the community. 'It was days away from being demolished,' he said. 'We ended the demolition contract and said 'let's see what we can do?' Can you imagine a more perfect use for this building than the Kronk gym? This is the city we're building, a city where we honor our history and we keep it alive.' The original Kronk was established in 1971 by trainer Emanuel Steward in a gym on Detroit's southwest side. Boxer Hilmer Kenty was Kronk's first professional champion, winning the WBA title. But Kronk rose to national prominence behind the punishing fists of Thomas 'Hitman' Hearns who pummeled the likes of José 'Pipino' Cuevas, Wilfred Benítez and Roberto Durán on the way to five titles and a career 61-5-1 record as a pro. World champions Lennox Lewis and Wladimir Klitschko later would train at Kronk. The original gym closed in 2006 and was long vacant by 2017 when the building was destroyed by fire. Steward later would rent space at a gym in nearby Dearborn so his young fighters could train. Steward died of colon cancer in 2012 at the age of 68. ___ AP boxing:
Axios
27-03-2025
- General
- Axios
City Streets: Thomas "Hitman" Hearns
Dozens of streets spanning the city have been given secondary names to honor the contributions of notable Detroiters. Between the lines: Today's look at boxer Thomas "Hitman" Hearns' street sign is the first installment of our series highlighting select secondary signs in Detroit. We'll visit their locations and share the histories behind them. Catch up quick: Hearns was born in Tennessee and moved to Detroit when he was 5. He trained at the city's famed Kronk Gym and won titles in five weight classes. He was named Ring Magazine's Fighter of the Year in 1980 and 1984. State of play: Hearns' sign at McGraw and Junction avenues, at the Kronk Gym's former site, was dedicated in 2017. Yes, but: The sign, which can be seen in old news footage of the ceremony, was no longer standing when we visited Tuesday. The sign's petitioner has not paid the $400 fee to replace the sign since it fell down in 2019, per the city's Historic Designation Advisory Board.
The National
21-02-2025
- Sport
- The National
Joseph Parker puts his Riyadh revival on the line against heavyweight bogeyman Martin Bakole
If one singular fight could illustrate how Saudi Arabia has transformed boxing, it takes place at Kingdom Arena on Saturday night – and it's not the main event. That headline bout – a rematch between Russian rivals Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol for light-heavyweight supremacy – might not have taken place at all, let alone twice in just four months, without the lubricant of Saudi cash. But directly beneath the Russian maestros on the bill sits a clash between two of the most in-form heavyweights in the sport – two fighters who have taken full advantage of the opportunities presented by Riyadh Season. Unified champion Oleksandr Usyk operates in a class of his own having sent Tyson Fury, the generation's other elite big man, into at least a temporary retirement. But the Ukrainian's next challenger is likely to come from Saturday's salvaged co-main between Joseph Parker and Martin Bakole. It's a scenario few could have envisaged at the advent of the Saudi boxing project. Parker had been due to face Daniel Dubois but the IBF champion has fallen sick. Instead, he faces the division's bogeyman, the avoided Congolese Bakole, who has taken the fight at two days' notice. If anything confirms that times have changed in heavyweight boxing then it's the making of Parker versus Bakole in the space of a few frantic hours on Thursday night. In this climate, the best fight the best and money talks. Dubois is unavailable? Next man up. Bring in Bakole. The show goes on. Parker is 3-0 in Riyadh, while Bakole is 2-0 on Saudi-backed cards. Saturday's winner could challenge Usyk for the keys to the kingdom. Parker's resurgence has been both popular and hard earned after a 2022 defeat to slow-motion slugger Joe Joyce left him out in the cold. 'Truthfully, I always believed I had the ability to do well in boxing again, but when you have a few defeats and things are not going your way, you start asking yourself questions,' Parker said this week. 'I never had any doubt and I never wanted to give up ever, but I knew I had to make a change and I guess making the change that I've had now has been very, very nice.' Parker (35-3, 23ko) won a version of the title at just 24 with an underappreciated victory over Andy Ruiz. He was paid well but then relieved of the strap after an underwhelming effort against Anthony Joshua in 2018, and another loss to Dillian Whyte left him jobbing on undercards. A pair of wins over Derek Chisora reinvigorated a career that was immediately derailed once again by defeat to Joyce. Andy Lee, a former middleweight titlist and devotee of Emanuel Steward's Kronk Gym in Detroit, was in his corner by then, and despite the setback, the partnership endured. As Lee has blossomed as a trainer, Parker has matured as a heavyweight. 'I think it was a great start with Andy and it was great in the beginning, relearning the basics,' Parker explained. 'As a fighter, when you've been in the game for a while and you start learning new things, sometimes, you go away from the basics. I think it [also] was important to gain that friendship. 'You can only learn from each other if you become very close and even though we are friends outside the ring and we like to hang out and chill … When it's time to train and when it's time to put in work it's very different.' The 33-year-old wasn't meant to beat Zhilei Zhang or Deontay Wilder, but did so through skill, technique, discipline and Lee's razor-sharp game plans. He will need all of that and more against Bakole (21-1, 16ko), who has a well-earned reputation as an avoided fighter and was described on Thursday by Parker as a 'beast'. Bakole, 31, the younger brother of former cruiserweight champion Ilunga Makabu, was born in Kananga, DR Congo, but has become an adopted Scotsman while training with Billy Graham in Greengairs, a small village on the outskirts of Airdrie. The chances are that Parker and Bakole have sparred rounds, with Bakole's fearsome reputation forged in UK gyms while going rounds with Fury, Joshua and Dubois, who Bakole claims he knocked out during a session. A solitary defeat to the American Michael Hunter in 2018 led to claims of him being exposed, but he has won 10 on the spin since then. With the backing of Riyadh Season he was given the opportunity to face top prospect Jared Anderson in Los Angeles last August. Bakole decimated him in five rounds. His promoter Ben Shalom said it is unlikely Bakole will be at anything more than 50 per cent on fight night but that will still be enough to get the job done. 'He was in the Congo, he's on his way,' said Shalom. 'If you're ever going to have a chance at beating Martin Bakole it's on two days' notice, but I still think he's the favourite in the fight. 'I think a 50 per cent Martin Bakole beats most heavyweights. Fair play to Joseph Parker as well for taking Martin Bakole. 'Everyone knew we were going to put our name in the hat, we were pushing for it. We don't talk [rubbish] when we say we will fight anyone, we will fight anyone. To do it on two days' notice is crazy.' In the main event, Bivol will try to level the score and tee up a trilogy bout against Beterbiev after a narrow loss in their first fight last October. The 40-year-old Beterbiev had posted 20 successive knockout victories but edged past Bivol via majority decision with cards of 116-112 and 115-113 in his favour and the other a 114-114 draw. Bivol, 33, started fast and boxed beautifully before the relentless Beterbiev closed the show, sweeping the later rounds. Still, many thought Bivol had done enough, and he won praise for his performance – praise that he flatly rejects. 'Of course I wasn't happy with my performance,' Bivol told Ring Magazine. 'I know I could be better. I grade it maybe a six out of 10. I have thoughts on where I can be better and where I wasn't. I know why, what happened, and the reason. Now it's interesting for me – could I use all of this knowledge and be better this time? 'I don't think about 'I won or I lost the fight'. I look at the moments that were good and bad. I have to create many more good moments in the rematch. That's it. 'We are ready for Artur to [start strong] from the beginning,' he added. 'This is one of the things that we have thought about. We won't know until the fight. I prepared in camp that he will be faster, hit harder, and push more.' At 40, Beterbiev is in the final chapter of his career and last October was a little short of his ferocious best. Was it age, the fact he was coming off knee surgery, Bivol's performance, or all three? 'They can say anything. I don't care about it,' Beterbiev said about criticism of his performance and the scoring. 'My challenge is to do better than last time. We needed to learn. We had some mistakes, we needed to correct them. Of course, we learn. We will see, it's coming in a short time, we will see. 'You see something different, why I did this, why I did not do this. Automatically you want to change something.' The Mexican-American David Benavidez plans to call out the winner in Riyadh, while Turki Alalshikh, the man steering Saudi prizefighting, has touted a move to cruiserweight for Beterbiev and a fight against champion Jai Opetaia. 'I don't know. So far everything's going well. I feel good. My health is good. I want to continue,' Beterbiev said when asked about the future, adding that he will stop only when his mother asks him to. 'Like any mother, any mother worries about their child. Yes, my mother worries but she supports me. She gave me approval,' he said.
