Ugghhh! I'm having a mixed feeling of disgust and sadness and I didn't even hold Steward in the high regard that most do.:barf
Detroit really is a ****-hole. Stealing random s****s of metal? :-( Why did none of Steward's associates ever pool together resources to keep the place alive? I remember there being some kind of strife between his next of kin and some of the Kronk folk as far as disagreements over what to do with some of the memorabilia, but surely they could have gotten on the same page to prevent the place getting run-down from neglect and ransacked? Klitschko alone has more than enough money to have kept it open with Hill & Banks on retainer full-time as the new head trainers without missing a cent.
How much time have you spent in Detroit? There are good and bad things about every city. It's funny that the people that say the worse things about Detroit have never spent any amount of time there.
This is ****ing depressing. We still got Klitschko, Andy Lee and Adonis Stevenson rocking that red and gold at least.
Have never been; I only know it by reputation - but reps like that don't come from nowhere. I've seen firsthand how true all the rumors were about Nawlins (and this was before Katrina), B-More, Cleveland, southeast DC... I very much doubt that Detroit, which is routinely put right up there with those places, is the slandered exception.
Klitschko and Stevenson are pushing 40, and Lee had maybe the most erratic climb to a world title in modern times. (and who knows how long before he implodes, maybe for good) There is a whole young crop of kids that Steward did work closely with coming down the pipeline, though. (see pg 1)
I thought so. I'm not going to say that Detroit doesn't have its warts. Every city does but Detroit is undergoing a renaissance right now but since you haven't been there, you wouldn't know. The Kronk gym was about three blocks from my highschool and it always was somewhat of a dump so I doubt it has fallen that much since Steward's death. I tend to not run a place down simply because of what I heard or read. I like to come to my own conclusions but that's just me.
The area is such a huge mess that the 80,000-seat Pontiac Silverdome - where the Detroit Lions played and where Wrestlemania III (between Hulk Hogan and Andre The Giant) was held - was sold at an auction in 2009 for a little more than $500,000. Hell, relatively modest homes cost that much in a lot of places. If I'd known, I'd have put in a bid. http://money.cnn.com/2009/11/17/news/economy/silverdome_buyer/
Fair enough. :conf I'd say the statistics - and testimonials from residents besides yourself - speak to a bit more than 'some warts', but you're right, I haven't seen it firsthand. My inclination, however, would be that spending time in Detroit would only confirm what's said of it, since that pattern has so far held unfailingly true in the other cities I mentioned. Where there's smoke... (there's a blighted former capital of industry) they say. I have indeed heard of the efforts to breathe life back into the city, and that's commendable, but I've yet to hear that it has suddenly done a 180° because of those efforts and become an especially desirable place to live.
The Kronk gym is a shrine really to boxing Like Smokin Joe's, Gormans Super Pro in Ft Worth Tx, Gleason's gym etc They should never be allowed to close. So many great champions were nurtured there, So many kids given a chance at turning their lives around.