The historic Kronk Boxing Gym’s new location in Detroit’s Warrendale district, home to many recent Arab American immigrants, particularly from Iraq.

If there’s anyone in the state of Michigan or the United States for that matter who knows a good boxer when he sees one, it’s Emanuel Steward.

The Detroit native, Hall-of-Fame trainer and HBO boxing commentator has trained countless professional champions, from Thomas “The Hit Man” Hearns and Oscar de la Hoya to Lennox Lewis and Evander Holyfield, just to name a few.

A referee prepares to raise 11-year-old Kronk boxer Gheith Mohammed’s hand in victory after a December bout.

And now, operating out of the Kronk Gym in Detroit near the Dearborn border, Steward believes he has found a new group of young champions for the future.
“I predict that by the next Olympics about eight years from now, you’ll see many Arab boxers,” he said, referring mainly to the kids who fight under him and his fellow trainers at Kronk.

The gym, which functions as an after-school haven for local youth, many of whom have nowhere else to go for recreation, has seen the number of aspiring boxers of Arab descent rise in recent years to a total of about 35 to 40 percent according to Steward.

Many of those potential champions were on display at Byblos Banquet Hall on December 10, 2009 in Dearborn as five of the six Arab boxers emerged victorious at the “Battle at Byblos” event.

Among the best prospects Steward and fellow trainer/manager Najah Al-Jebury have to offer are three young fighters who all won their bouts at Byblos.

Eleven-year-old Gheith Mohammed is considered one of the most promising young fighters at Kronk. Mohammed has won a national championship in his age class as well as a Golden Gloves award at the Junior Olympics according to Al-Jebury.

Another top young boxer is 14-year-old Ahmed Mahmood, whom Al-Jebury praises for his speed and mental sharpness in the ring.

Ten-year-old Zuhair Abdhak, who also won at Byblos, is another prized young fighter who has a surprisingly good work ethic for his age and great strength.

Steward and Al-Jebury don’t want to heap too much praise and expectations on the young fighters, but they can’t hide their excitement when talking about both their talent and the talents of the numerous young Arab boxers coming into the gym on almost a daily basis.

The event at Byblos has spurred even more young Arab boxers from Dearborn and Detroit as well to come in for training. Some days, the overall count of boxers training at Kronk can reach as many as 100 people.

Al-Jebury, who also trains undefeated Canadian pro boxer Ali Mansour and helped refurbish the current Kronk location after the original one was forced to close, said that starting young is extremely important.

“All of the champs come in at this age,” he said. “You’ve got to start young to be a good boxer.”

Concerns about the health of the young boxers is offset by the practice of wearing helmets in the ring, which continues all the way into Olympic boxing.

Despite some parents’ concerns of the violent aspect of boxing, the sport’s virtues as far as teaching the importance of hard work, physical fitness, and competitiveness can’t be overstated.

Steward believes that the interest in boxing among Arab youth will continue to grow in the area because they relate to it more than sports like American football and hockey they aren’t as familiar with.

He said he’s had a strong relationship with the Arab community going back to 1973 when he became good friends with businessman Mike George of the Melody Farms dairy company.

“I have a great relationship with all of them; I have so much respect for the Arab community,” he said. “They came to Detroit and worked so hard to develop a tremendous community here.”

The growth of interest in boxing is similar to what he saw back in the 1990s when he trained Prince Naseem Hamed, a former champion of Yemeni descent, as well as other Arab boxing stars like Fadi Faraj and Tarick Salmaci, both of whom also trained at Kronk.

The buzz created by those boxers gave kids the vision to dream about being a champion, and now Steward believes history could repeat itself as his stable of young boxers continues to mature.

“I think all kids have sports attributes, but sometimes they’re shut out and can’t relate like members of the major population can,” he said.

“I think a lot of these kids are waiting for heroes. Kids come in and say ‘Bring us another Arab American champion.’ They’re hungry for someone right now.

“I tell them not to worry because the heroes are coming soon.”