In 1963, 18-year old Emanuel Steward, fighting as a bantamweight, won the National Golden Gloves Tournament of Champions. He looked forward to a career as a professional, but after failing to find what he considered to be honest management, took a steady job at Detroit Edison Company. But he never wandered too far from the fight game. In 1971 Steward accepted a part-time position as head coach of the boxing program at the Kronk Recreation Center. When his young team won the Detroit Golden Gloves team title that same year, the Kronk Dynasty was born.

In March 1972, Steward left Detroit Edison to become a full-time trainer/manager. Five years later, with the newly formed ESCOT (Emanuel Steward's Champions of Tomorrow) Boxing Enterprises, Inc., he ventured into the world of professional boxing with an 18-year old slugger named Tommy Hearns. Hearns went on to win world titles in five different weight classes on his way to boxing immortality. Steward's reputation as a trainer grew by leaps and bounds after that, and with it grew the number of champions under his tutelage. In addition to the 30 plus world champions he has managed, he also developed six gold medal winners for the 1984 U.S. Olympic Team, including Pernell Whitaker, Mark Breland, Terrell Biggs, Jerry Page, Frank Tate and Steve McCrory.

Steward continues to work with the young fighters at the Kronk Boxing Gym, in addition to being an expert commentator on HBO's World Championship Boxing and HBO Pay-Per-View coverage.