Steward to Become Oscar’s Main Man

In the wake of Oscar De La Hoya’s controversial victory over Pernell Whitaker last month, the fighter’s handlers have agreed to turn his primary training over to Emanuel Steward, the veteran Detroit trainer told The Times on Thursday.

Steward, considered one of the top teachers in boxing and the man behind Thomas Hearns’ rise to glory, said he had cleared his schedule for the next several weeks, and was planning to leave for De La Hoya’s Big Bear training compound as early as this weekend to begin preparations for a June 14 fight against David Kamau.

“I am very, very excited about this,” Steward said from Aruba, where he was attending a medical conference sponsored by the World Boxing Council. “This kid has so much speed and rhythm--he’s like a perfect machine. He just needs some more work on his boxing technique.

“Tommy’s always going to be my favorite, but what he did was by determination, not overall talent. Oscar is the one I’ve been dreaming about. I’ve been watching him for a long time, and I’ve known he was special.

“Oscar has more natural talent than anyone I’ve ever worked with. But I never in a million years thought I would be working with him.”

Steward, who also trains WBC heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis and has worked with Julio Cesar Chavez and Evander Holyfield, was contacted by Bob Arum, De La Hoya’s promoter, then had breakfast with De La Hoya and his main advisor, Mike Hernandez, about a week after the Whitaker fight.

The name of Jesus Rivero, De La Hoya’s trainer and close friend for the last two years, has not been brought up, Steward said.

But Arum and others in the De La Hoya camp have been openly dissatisfied with Rivero’s work before the Whitaker bout. De La Hoya at times looked frustrated in that fight and was unable to solve the left-hander’s style.

“He was not ready for a southpaw,” Steward said.

Steward becomes the third lead trainer in De La Hoya’s 4 1/2-year professional career. Rivero replaced Robert Alcazar, De La Hoya’s first pro trainer, before the fight against Rafael Ruelas in May 1995.

“He needs to really go back and pick up on his fundamentals,” Steward said of De La Hoya. “He’s spending so much time on all the modern things [exercise and nutrition], and I believe in that, but what time is he really [spending on] learning all his boxing techniques?

“This kid can box, he can punch, he’s got that burning desire to be great. I’m looking for him to become like the reincarnation of Sugar Ray Robinson. He’s the same weight, he’s got the same speed, he’s about the same height, and he’s got the same desire.

“And when he fights [Felix] Trinidad and [Terry] Norris and those guys, I expect him to knock all of them out. He fights [Hector] Camacho in September, and if Oscar’s right for that fight, I think he’s going to be the first man to knock out Camacho.”