STEWARD TOOK TAYLOR BACK TO BASICS TRAINER USED KRONK TO TOUGHEN BOXER.

Byline: ROBERT MORALES Staff Writer

Jermain Taylor is the middleweight champion of the world, coming off two consecutive victories over Bernard Hopkins, one of the best middleweights of the past 25 years.

But that didn't cut any ice with anyone in the famous Kronk Gym in Detroit. Taylor still had to earn his stripes.

``This ain't no place to try and be somebody,'' said Hall of Fame trainer Emanuel Steward, who owns Kronk and is training Taylor for the first time. ``You come in here with your head up in the clouds, you're in the wrong place.''

Steward will be in Taylor's corner Saturday when he defends his championship against Winky Wright, the former junior middleweight champion who is one of the top pound-for-pound fighters in the world.

HBO will televise from FedEx Forum in Memphis, Tenn.

Steward, who replaced Pat Burns as Taylor's lead trainer, said Taylor learned real quick what it takes to survive at Kronk when he sparred with southpaw middleweight prospect Andy Lee, who, according to Steward, ``is one of the stars of our gym right now.''

``They had a real rough, spirted workout,'' Steward said. ``It was nip and tuck. Jermain said, `I'm not used to that.' They boxed again and there was electricity in the air. Jermain said, `I've been here two weeks training. Never once has anyone asked for my autograph. Nobody's even asked to take a picture.'

``I told him, `You've got to realize that you were taking on the middleweight champion of this gym in Andy Lee. This is his turf right here. And you being the middleweight champion of the world, you've got to earn that respect here.' ''

Taylor (25-0, 17 KOs) has more than embraced his new digs.

``Once you come in the Kronk Gym and get the Kronk T-shirt, you're officially a member of the Kronk,'' Taylor said. ``As soon as you walk in the gym, you can feel it. It's a boxing atmosphere. There's people on the sidelines and everybody's got their own opinion of you and nobody's scared to say anything -- everybody speaks their mind.

``I love the gym, and being in Kronk helps you a lot because all you're around is boxing. Every day you get up, you think about boxing. You go to the gym and think about boxing, you go home and think about it. It's all boxing.''

Considering Taylor's success, it is curious that he would change trainers. Burns, however, apparently butted heads with Ozell Nelson, who has long been Taylor's secondary trainer and, more importantly, his father figure.

``Pat Burns did a good job,'' said Taylor's promoter, Lou DiBella, who said the idea to change from Burns to Steward ``originated'' with Nelson. ``The kid got better with each fight and beat Bernard Hopkins twice. But they also felt that despite how much they felt they owed Pat, that Pat had taken the kid as far as he could.

``The other thing is, there is also the feeling that Winky is such a (difficult opponent) to fight; he makes you look bad. And having a guy like Emanuel, who is an expert at changing your game plan during the fight at midstream, that this was the time to bring Emanuel in.''

The bottom line is that it would be difficult for Burns or any other trainer to come close to what Steward has accomplished during his own illustrious career. Steward has trained some two dozen world champions, including Thomas Hearns, Lennox Lewis, Oscar De La Hoya, and, most recently, Wladimir Klitschko.

``Pat Burns did a great job as to where I am now,'' said Taylor, 27, of Little Rock, Ark. ``And I have nothing bad to say about him. Emanuel Steward is a Hall of Fame trainer and has had a lot of world champions and a resume that can't be matched by anyone. Emanuel teaches you to use all your skills that you have.

``He's a great teacher and with his experience, and considering all the world champions and big fights that he has been involved in, that can't be nothing but a benefit for me.''

CAPTION(S):

photo, box

Photo:

(color) Jermain Taylor, left, and Winky Wright fight Saturday for Taylor's WBC and WBO middleweight titles.

Charles Rex Arbogast/Associated Press

Box:

TAYLOR vs. WRIGHT