FILE - This Aug. 8, 2012 file photo shows a closed Kronk Recreation Center at 5555 McGraw in Detroit. The fabled Kronk Gym building in Detroit, where boxing champion Thomas Hearns and others trained, has been destroyed by fire. Deputy Fire Chief Dave Fornell told The Detroit News Sunday that the blaze at the vacant building on the city's southwest side was reported about 9:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 7, 2017. (Elizabeth Conley/Detroit News via AP)
October 08, 2017 - 10:49 AM
DETROIT - The fabled Kronk Gym building in Detroit, where boxing champion Thomas Hearns and others trained, has been destroyed by fire.
Deputy Fire Chief Dave Fornell told The Detroit News Sunday that the blaze at the vacant building on the city's southwest side was reported about 9:30 p.m. Saturday.
Firefighters arrived to find flames shooting from the gym's second floor. The roof later collapsed.
Fornell says the fire is being listed as suspicious and is under investigation.
Legendary boxing trainer Emanuel Steward established the Kronk program in 1971. The gym's first professional champion, Hilmer Kenty, won the WBA title in 1978. But Hearns really put Kronk and Steward on the map, winning five titles with a 61-5-1 record as a pro.
The building closed in 2006.
News from © The Associated Press, 2017