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Boxing gold medalist dies at age 36
DETROIT (AP) -- After battling an extended illness, Olympic boxing gold medalist Steve McCrory died Tuesday night. He was 36. It was unclear what illness McCrory died of. Calls to Detroit Receiving Hospital were not immediately returned Thursday night. McCrory and his brother Milton helped bring international fame to the Detroit Kronk Gym Boxing team. Milton McCrory won a welterweight world championship, and Steve McCrory handily won the gold medal at the Olympics in Los Angeles in 1984. Always confident, Steve McCrory all but predicted his victory. Afterward, he recalled that the night before the championship bout he lay in bed dreaming of his accomplishments. "I was smiling in my sleep," he had said. And when he won his gold medal, he didn't forget where he came from. "Detroit, this is for you," McCrory said. Longtime friends remembered "Stevie" for more than his skills in the ring. They talked about his personality and style away from his career. "He was charming, and he could talk to anybody," said Jimmy Paul, who grew up with McCrory, trained on Kronk Gym, and later became a world champion. "He had that smile. He could get in anybody's heart and you'd feel close to him," Paul told the Detroit Free Press for a story Friday. Paul's brother, Danny, a friend and champion boxer who also trained at Kronk, said: "We're all going to miss him. He was a wonderful person." McCrory grew up on the city's northeast side and attended Pershing High. At age 10, he followed others in the neighborhood, including his brother, into the gym. He quickly developed his precocious talent, blending a combination of ring savvy and style. Only 5-feet-5, he was nonetheless quick enough to outpoint rivals. It was said he had more talent than Milton and even Detroit boxing legend Thomas Hearns.
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