RSR Looks Back at Alex “The Destroyer” Stewart
By Geno McGahee
In 1986, a New York Heavyweight by the name of Alex “The Destroyer” Stewart began his career and quickly made a name for himself. He was knocking out every opponent put in front of him and earned a shot at the heavyweight contender, Evander Holyfield, broadcast live on Showtime. Stewart would bring in a record of 24-0, 24 KO’s, as he stepped into the ring with “The Real Deal” that night in November of 1989, but despite his impressive record, he wasn’t considered much of a threat to derail Holy’s march to the heavyweight title.
In boxing, records can be deceiving. Sometimes management will spoon-feed a fighter, give him stiffs to beat around the ring to create a sparkling record, but the foundation of the record is not solid. Stewart came into the Holyfield fight without a big name on his record.
The collective record for the first 24 opponents, all knockout victims, was 184 wins, 173 losses, giving them a win percentage of 52%. Stewart had not been in the ring with a guy nearly as talented as Holyfield and most sportswriters assumed that it would be a walk in the park for the cruiser turned heavy, but it wasn’t. For eight rounds, Stewart gave Holyfield hell, taking shots and firing back. A cut would end the fight, but “The Destroyer” made a point. He was a legitimate contender with a bright future and could possibly vie for a title in the near future.
The gutsy performance, coupled with two comeback wins for Stewart against Mark Young, a fighter with 10 wins and 15 losses, and James Howe, with a record of 15-11-1, made him an acceptable opponent for the returning Iron Mike Tyson. Tyson had lost his title to Buster Douglas in 1990 and came back to annihilate Henry Tillman in his first bout back, stopping him in the first. Not much shock there. Stewart became the next in line to face Tyson, and after a postponement, the two would meet up in December of 1990.
An HBO promo for the fight upset the Stewart camp, where the viewers were asked to pray for him. The focus, as in all Tyson fights, was the fury of Iron Mike. Most viewers grew accustomed to seeing the opponents crash to the floor in quick fashion. A Tyson fight wasn’t meant to provide a great boxing exhibition. It was meant to be a massacre and the prayer that HBO asked for was what most people usually did anyway. They hoped that the opponent could give Tyson a fight, stretch him a few rounds, and be more then a bouncing ball in the first round. Stewart, 26-1, 26 KO’s, with his great record and good performance against Holyfield looked like a threat. Before the fight, he stated that Tyson was a “little guy,” and that he would “climb all over him,” but during a press conference, the fragile psyche of Stewart was exposed.
It is said that Tyson won most of his fights outside of the ring, terrifying the opposition and turning them into a deer in the headlights, waiting for the car to hit. Tyson looked at Stewart in the eyes at the pre fight press conference and said: “You’d better tell your family that you’re not coming home. You’ve been talking a lot.” Stewart’s anxiety was obvious and on fight night, it was even more apparent.
Tyson looked at Stewart at the stare down and the fear was written all over his face. When Tyson lunged out of his corner, he dropped Stewart with two right hands in the first five seconds of the fight. Stewart arose, but could not keep Tyson off. After two more knockdowns, it was over. A first round TKO for Iron Mike Tyson, and Stewart was removed, temporarily from the map of contenders. It was a perfect fight for Tyson. Stewart was a slow starter with questionable defense and he was able to get into his head and rattle him.
Five months after the Tyson fight, Stewart would return to the ring, facing Danny Wofford, another career loser with a record of 10-14-2. Stewart beat him into submission in four rounds and would then land another high profile fight. This time, he would be taking on former Light Heavyweight Champion, Michael Moorer on HBO. Moorer was looking to take over the division and Stewart was a good place to start. He wanted to leave him in a heap as Tyson did, but he got more than he bargained for.
Stewart landed a right hand that wobbled Moorer, and seemed like he was on the verge of stopping him, but Moorer rebounded and landed wicked uppercuts that called a halt to the bout in round four. It was redemption in a way for Stewart. Many questioned his heart after the Tyson fight, but he showed plenty in the war with Moorer, and although he was defeated, his stock was rising again, and would land another crack at a top contender on HBO.
On April 11, 1992, top contender George Foreman was looking for another crack at the heavyweight title. He gave Evander Holyfield all he could handle and still possessed the punch and popularity to land another shot. HBO was not pleased with the selection of Jimmy Ellis, a former football player, as his last opponent, but approved of Stewart. Foreman didn’t train well for the fight, coming in at a soft 258 pounds. He underestimated Stewart, feeling that he could walk over him as he did with Ellis, but he paid a price for it.
In the second round, Foreman landed with a low blow that led to a knockdown and followed up with a right cross that led to another. It was about to be stopped but Stewart made it through the round and then initiated his game plan. He began peppering Foreman with his jab and the results were scary. Foreman was swollen and bloody and the fight was getting close on the cards. Stewart was out-landing Foreman and doing more damage. The “Punching Preacher” was tired and a mess, and it looked like “The Destroyer” had pulled off a major upset.
The bout was scored for Foreman by majority decision, but the crowd thought otherwise and expressed their disgust at the verdict. Stewart’s loss was a win and he began to appear regularly on USA’s Tuesday Night Fights. He took on Paul Poirier, an undefeated middleweight turned heavyweight with a record of 30-0, going in. Stewart pounded him out in three rounds.
He would then stop Marshall Tillman, a respectable journeyman, and add another notable “opponent” in Jerry Halstead, stopping him in 7. Stewart put together four wins since the Foreman decision and that led to a Pay Per View opportunity in a rematch with Evander Holyfield, fresh off his title loss to Riddick Bowe.
Evander boxed and moved and outworked Stewart, walking away with an extremely wide decision. It put Stewart’s career into perspective. He was a B fighter, easily defeating the C level opposition but not doing so well against the B+ and above range. He was still an interesting character and a fun fighter to watch and not the sort of boxer to underestimate.
The rest of Stewart’s career after the loss to Holyfield in the rematch was unremarkable. He would put together some wins with his biggest being over Jesse Ferguson, and would be stopped by future WBC Champion, Oleg Maskaev (KO-8), Lance Whitaker (KO-7) and Jorge Luis Gonzalez (KO-2). He would retire from boxing due to injury in 1999 with a record of 43-10, 40 KO’s. He faced five former or future world heavyweight champions, going 0-5, but he held his own with all but Tyson. He will be remembered as a warrior in the ring, a B level heavyweight that was dedicated and courageous but just couldn’t get beyond the top talent of the 200+ pound division.
Nickname: “The Destroyer”
Division: Heavyweight
Professional Record: 43-10, 40 KO’s
Date Opponent Location Result
1986-09-06 James Walker Las Vegas, US W TKO 3
1987-05-07 Eric Mitchell New York, US W TKO 3
1987-06-18 Jim Little New York, US W KO 1
1987-08-06 Dennis Cain New York, US W TKO 2
1987-10-01 Tim Morrison New York, US W TKO 2
1987-10-27 Jimmy Harrison Staten Island, US W TKO 2
1987-11-20 Ernie Poole Detroit, US W TKO 1
1987-11-27 Juan Quintana New Haven, US W TKO 2
1987-12-17 John Morton New York, US W TKO 4
1988-02-04 George Garza New York, US W TKO 2
1988-03-25 Harry Terrell New York, US W KO 1
1988-05-12 Mike Jones New York, US W KO 4
1988-05-20 Jim Berry Brooklyn, US W TKO 1
1988-05-26 Aaron Brown Boston, US W TKO 1
1988-07-14 Calvin Sherman New York, US W TKO 1
1988-07-31 Conroy Nelson New York, US W TKO 2
1988-09-23 Tim Adams Brooklyn, US W TKO 1
1988-10-27 Lorenzo Canady New York, US W TKO 4
1988-12-15 Eddie Richardson New York, US W KO 3
1989-02-18 David Jaco Budapest, HU W TKO 1
1989-03-30 Arthel Lawhorne New York, US W TKO 4
1989-04-29 Michael Johnson Kingston, JM W TKO 2
1989-07-13 Fernando Montes New York, US W TKO 2
1989-08-10 Terry Armstrong New York, US W TKO 3
1989-11-04 Evander Holyfield Atlantic City, US L TKO 8
WBC Continental Americas Heavyweight Title
1990-05-25 Mark Young Atlantic City, US W TKO 5
1990-07-03 Jamie Howe Monticello, US W TKO 7
1990-12-08 Mike Tyson Atlantic City, US L TKO 1
1991-04-11 Danny Wofford Saint Joseph, US W RTD 4
1991-07-27 Michael Moorer Norfolk, US L TKO 4
1992-02-22 Joey Christjohn Katowice, PL W TKO 3
1992-04-11 George Foreman Las Vegas, US L MD 10
1992-07-24 Paul Poirier Catskill, US W TKO 3
1992-08-25 Marshall Tillman Atlantic City, US W TKO 10
1993-02-06 Jerry Halstead New York, US W TKO 7
1993-04-26 Rick Enis Rosemont, US W TKO 3
1993-06-26 Evander Holyfield Atlantic City, US L UD 12
1994-07-02 Derrick Roddy South Padre Island, US W TKO 6
1994-09-10 Tyrone Evans Laughlin, US W TKO 6
1995-05-09 Tyrone Evans Las Vegas, US W TKO 4
1995-08-08 Jesse Ferguson Coachella, US W UD 10
1995-10-03 Darren Hayden Mashantucket, US W TKO 5
1995-12-02 Terry Anderson Atlantic City, US W KO 1
1996-02-06 Bryant Smith New York, US W KO 6
1996-11-03 Craig Petersen Urayasu, JP L TKO 8
1997-03-06 Samson Cohen Baltimore, US W KO 1
1997-05-01 James Warring Asbury Park, US W UD 10
1997-09-27 Oleg Maskaev Moscow, RU L TKO 7
1998-06-12 Abdul Muhaymin Baton Rouge, US W UD 8
1998-07-24 Phil Jackson Miami, US L UD 10
1998-10-08 Ezra Sellers Kansas City, US W TKO 3
1999-01-16 Lance Whitaker Las Vegas, US L TKO 7
1999-06-06 Jorge Luis Gonzalez Las Vegas, US L TKO 2