Sports
Frank Tate
born 1964 · boxer, Olympic champion, IBF middleweight champion
Detroit-born Kronk boxer who won Olympic gold in 1984 and later held the IBF middleweight title.
- Born
Detroit, Michigan
age 62- Detroit years
- 1964–1990s
- Field
- Sports
01 / The Detroit story
The Detroit story
Frank Tate grew up in Detroit and trained at the Kronk Gym under Emanuel Steward, sharing the basement ring with Thomas Hearns, Hilmer Kenty and fellow amateur star Steve McCrory. In 1984 he was one of four Kronk boxers ranked in the world's amateur top ten at the same time, and that summer he won the light middleweight gold medal at the Los Angeles Olympics, as did McCrory at flyweight. Turning professional with the Kronk team, he won the IBF middleweight title in 1987 by outpointing Michael Olajide and lost it to Michael Nunn in 1988. He later moved up to light heavyweight and twice challenged for a world title there. Tate is remembered as part of the golden generation that made the Kronk the most famous boxing gym in America in the 1980s.
Highlights
- Olympic gold medal, light middleweight, Los Angeles 1984
- IBF middleweight champion 1987–1988
- One of four Kronk fighters in the 1984 AIBA world top ten
- Trained by Emanuel Steward at the Kronk Gym
02 / Their Detroit places
Their Detroit places 1
Where they lived, worked, performed and liked to hang out. Closed and demolished places stay here too, because they are part of the city's history.
Played here · 1970s–1990s
Kronk Gym (original, Kronk Recreation Center)
Demolished · 1921–2006
Emanuel Steward's gym, where Tate trained as an amateur and a professional; demolished in 2018.