Sky Sports pundit and former WBO cruiserweight champion Johnny Nelson has paid tribute to legendary trainer Emanuel Steward, who has died at the age of 68.
Klitschko sorrow
Wladimir Klitschko, the heavyweight world champion who Steward worked with right up until he was too ill to do so, said: "Boxing has suffered a tremendous loss with the passing of Emanuel Steward."
"Vitali and I, along with the entire Team Klitschko, send our deepest and most heartfelt condolences to Emanuel's family and friends.
"It is not often that a person in any line of work gets a chance to work with a legend, well I was privileged enough to work with one for almost a decade. I will miss our time together.
"The long talks about boxing, the world, and life itself. Most of all I will miss our friendship. My team and I will carry on with the goals we had set while Emanuel was with us because that is exactly what Emanuel would have wanted.
"I know he will be with us in spirit along the way and we will accomplish these goals in his honor."
Ten-time world champion Oscar De La Hoya trained under Steward in 1997.
Now the president of Golden Boy Promotions, De La Hoya said in a statement: "It brings me great grief and sadness to hear of the passing of one of the best and most respected trainers of this era, Emanuel Steward.
"I learned a lot from him during our professional relationship and I will be forever grateful for his help during that time.
"We were also friends and I know I am going to miss him as so many others will too. He was an important part of our boxing community."
