I did not realize that Manny Steward was in the Volunteers of America program but apparently he is.
Steward, the Goldfather who built the now dismantled Kronk Gym dynasty when people actually worked, lived and sometimes thrived in now battered Detroit, must be because he just put in a bid to become Miguel Cotto?s head trainer.
What is a tad bizarre is that Steward spoke to Bob Arum, promoter of both Cotto and his Nov. 14 opponent Manny Pacquiao, about his desire.
Perhaps Steward was trying to be proper, to go through channels, but did he think for an everloving minute that Arum would even want to give off the appearance of fortifying the Boricua Bomber for an assault on Top Rank?s top client and cash cow, Da Pacman?
Arum, still as sharp mentally as a box of tacks as he closes in on his 80th birthday, immediately went the hands off, no can do, no want to do route.
Arum told the Kronkmeister he should speak directly to Cotto lawyer, Gabe Penagaricano, and to the fighter himself.
Uncle Bob is the paragon of impartiality when it comes to anything involving Pacquiao, you see.
At this point in Cotto?s career, having Steward come in as the lead trainer would reek of an unnecessary publicity stunt, that?s all, something along the lines of when Angelo Dundee was brought in to advise Oscar De La Hoya on how to beat Pacman.
Best of advice the great man Angelo could?ve given punched ticket Oscar would have been to retire BEFORE the savage and humiliating beatdown by Pacquiao. But then Dundee would have been firing himself.
Sure, Steward would do all the right things, say all the right things and add some flair to the scene in the Cotto camp.
But you tell me, what wrinkles is Steward going to add to finished pugilistic product Cotto now?
Anyone remember how Floyd Mayweather Sr. was going to refine Ricky Hatton and teach that old dog some new ring tricks?
That turned into a disaster of Titanic proportions. The Hatton camp is still moaning and grouping about Pretty Daddy showing up at the gym on Mayweather time and other gripes.
Could Hatton have done any worse against Pacman if he had kept longtime tutor and Olympian beer drinker Billy Graham in his corner? How, by getting waxed in one round instead of two?
Which brings your birthday boy, going to Rio by the sea-o, back to the Good Ship Mayweather.
L?l Floyd may be licking his sore ribs right now but having Steward in his camp and his corner on fight night against Pacquiao would make a helluva lot of sense.
It will never happen as both Floyd Sr. and Uncle Roger seem to have a blood feud or a Kronk complex going back to a in-state Michigan rivalry when they and tier fighters competed against the Kronk teams.
Do you think egomaniacs Roger and Papa Floyd would ever check their Wal-Mart size egos at the gym door and welcome Steward into the fold?
There will be an awesome blizzard on the hot streets of Las Vegas in July before that happens.
But this Megamanny, Prof. Steward, could actually improve L?l Floyd and perhaps help him overcome Pacman.
Steward loves big bangers and some think he?s only partial to puncher but they forget that as an amateur Hearns was the epitome of a smooth boxer.
Hearns outboxed another Great One named Ray Leonard in their first classic fight but then Leonard outpunched him.
L?l Floyd?s style of boxing artistry is something that Steward could streamline and put a razor sharp point on.
But, like I say, egos and past history involving Uncle Rog and Big Daddy will prevent that from happening.
Wait, wait you say, isn?t PBF his own boxing bossman?
I suppose you could say that but, when it comes to ego, L?l Floyd has one that makes that of his father and his uncle seem tiny.
They are Modest Mouses compared to It?s All About Me, Floyd Jr. But the apple did not fall far from the tree in that respect.
L?l Floyd refers to himself so often he comes off sounding like one of those eye-eye-eye-eye Mexican ranchero songs.
The bottom line is Cotto would be no better off with Steward, save on fight night in the corner strategy, than he is now.
Mayweather could be better with Steward but he?s blind to that.
Manny, don?t quit your day jobs.
In case you haven?t heard the economy is so tough that employer HBO can?t afford to stage Floyd-Manny until 2010.
It?s rough out there, Brother Manny, it?s rough.
