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one that may have the same result in the future.
Though he expressed personal fondness for the now-retired Lewis, Steward did admit he was left a little dissatisfied with the way things ended. “I was hoping that Lewis would fight the return match (versus Vitali that ended on a cut with Klitschko ahead on the cards) regardless because I, just like Vitali, felt he owed it to the boxing world… Boxing had been so dead and rewarded Lewis in so many ways. It would have been fair to the public to have the rematch and finish those last six rounds we did not get. He (Lewis) chose not to. Vitali and I have accepted his opinion, but I am very impressed with the class Vitali has shown because he could have easily degraded Lewis publicly and say that he is a coward. Vitali has been a gentleman, has respected Lewis' opinion and has shown a lot of class.”
Steward says there is nothing to the circumstantial similarities between the way Lewis and Steward came to be and the way boxing's newest dream team was formed. Lewis began his relationship with Steward after he helped Oliver McCall score a victory over him, and now the brothers have sought out his services after he coached Lewis to a win over Vitali.
In fact, the Kronk Godfather says this is the way it was always supposed to be. “I first met Vitali and Wladimir in 1996 when I was in Hamburg, Germany, right when they were coming from the '96 Olympics in Atlanta. I have been very friendly with them since then, even during all those years with Lewis. If I had not been with Lewis, I would have been working with the Klitschko brothers. We always used to meet and talk about that. I always had a lot of respect for them, and they had respect for me. So, when Lewis retired, it was a normal, natural thing that we got together because we had already had a long relationship with each other.”
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WBO No. 1 contender Wladimir, 42-2 (39), takes on Lamon Brewster for the WBO crown April 10 at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas and WBC No. 1 contender Vitali, 33-2 (32), takes on Corrie Sanders for the WBC title April 24 at Staples Center in Los Angeles. Tickets for the April 10 fight card are priced at $600, $400, $200, $100 and $50, and are on sale at the Mandalay Bay Box Office and all TicketMaster outlets. To order tickets by phone, call (702) 632-7580.
Tickets, priced at $350, $250, $150, $100, $85 and $50, are available for the April 24 fight card at Ticketmaster 's Charge-By-Phone network (213) 480-3232, at TicketMaster retail ticket center locations, including Wherehouse Records, Robinson's-May, Tower Records and Ritmo Latino locations and online at
www.ticketmaster.com . Tickets also are available at the Staples Center's box office and the box office at TEAM LA at Universal CityWalk.