by David P. Greisman
Hall of Fame boxing trainer Emanuel Steward has been diagnosed with cancer, according to French Canadian newspaper Le Journal de Quebec.
The newspaper cited boxing promoter Yvon Michel, who promotes Adonis Stevenson, a super middleweight contender Steward trains.
Michel told the newspaper that Steward will not be in Stevenson’s corner for his Oct. 12 bout against Donovan George, as Steward has undergone surgery and will soon be receiving chemotherapy treatments.
UPDATE: Steward's sister, meanwhile, says her brother is suffering from diverticulosis, which is not cancer but rather a colon condition.
"My brother has had problems with a nervous stomach, which turned into diverticulosis," Diane Steward-Jones told the Detroit Free Press. "He had to have some repairs and he is resting and recuperating. He is doing very well."
The 68-year-old’s health concerns were alluded to recently, but not delved into, on a pair of HBO broadcasts for which Steward was not present to do commentary.
David P. Greisman is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. Follow David on Twitter @fightingwords2 or send questions/comments via email at fightingwords1@gmail.com