STEWARD NOW IN KLITSCHKO CAMPS.

Byline: ROBERT MORALES Boxing

Emanuel Steward might be the perfect trainer for the Klitschko brothers, Vitali and Wladimir.

Steward's the one who worked Lennox Lewis' corner when Vitali Klitschko battered Lewis for six rounds last June 21 at Staples Center. Lewis, behind on all cards, escaped with a sixth-round TKO when Vitali could not answer the bell for the seventh round because of severe cuts. But he was pummeling Lewis, much to everyone's surprise.

The Klitschkos have been involved in other astonishing fights.

Vitali, in a defense of his World Boxing Organization heavyweight belt on April Fools Day 2000, quit after the ninth round against Chris Byrd because of an injured shoulder, losing his title. Vitali was ahead by five, five and seven points at the time.

Wladimir was knocked out by Corrie Sanders in the second round March 8, losing that same WBO championship belt.

Together, Steward and the Klitschko brothers have seen a lot. It will be interesting to see what materializes now that they have pooled their talents, along with those of Fritz Sdunek.

Except for two of Wladimir's fights that were worked by Freddie Roach, Sdunek has been trainer of the Klitschko brothers their entire careers. Now that Steward is on board, Sdunek will assist him with Wladimir, and be assisted by Steward with Vitali.

Wladimir will fight Lamon Brewster on Saturday at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas for the vacant WBO belt. Vitali will take on the aforementioned Sanders on April 24 at Staples Center for the vacant World Boxing Council title, meaning we won't have to wait long to see the results of this new arrangement.

Steward, during a conference call Wednesday, said he is impressed with the giants from Kiev, Ukraine. Vitali (33-2, 32 KOs) is 6-foot-8, Wladimir 6-6.

``I have never been in a camp where there is more diligent and hard training,'' Steward said. ``The training starts sometimes at seven in the morning and does not finish until seven at night.

``Both fighters are in very good condition. They are not overconfident by any means and they realize what can happen after what happened last year with Sanders, Lennox Lewis and Hasim Rahman (in his 2001 knockout of Lewis).

``They realize upsets can happen, so they are training very hard.''

Steward said the Klitschkos are professionals, students of the game. They are eager to watch film, to put in the study time it takes to win not only with brawn, but with brains.

``They have a tremendous thirst for knowledge,'' Steward said. ``They are extremely serious about their boxing. Everything is very punctual, on time. They both have a good sense of humor and they are exceptionally warm with the media and fans.

``They are maybe the most accommodating of the modern heavyweights I have known, possibly since Muhammad Ali. I think that is going to be an asset for them in the future.''

That future is now. Wladimir (42-2, 39 KOs), ranked No. 1 by the WBO, is up first Saturday. In Brewster (29-2), he will be taking on the No. 2 contender. HBO will televise.

Since Wladimir was floored four times by Sanders in two rounds just more than a year ago, you can bet he will be taking nothing for granted.

``Brewster is a very tough fighter, and he has very good skills,'' Wladimir, 28, said. ``Brewster will come after me right away in the first round. He will go for his chance, but let us see how the cookie crumbles.

``I do not want to explain much about it.''

Wladimir didn't want to explain much about his loss to Sanders either, when asked.

``In the heavyweight division, all guys are looking for a punch or kill,'' he said. ``It does not matter who you are fighting, because all fighters are over 200 pounds; they all have great punches.''

Sanders certainly does, something that is not lost on Steward. He predicts that Sanders (39-2, 29 KOs) on April 24 will do the same thing with Vitali that he did with Wladimir - come out throwing punches with mean intentions.

``Sanders is an extremely dangerous fighter, especially in the first four rounds,'' Steward said. ``He does not come out pacing himself. He does not look to win decisions. It could be a very explosive fight because of the emotions that come because Sanders beat Wladimir.''

That card also will be televised by HBO.

--Vitali was a man possessed: Steward was asked about the night last June when Vitali put a hurt on his man Lewis.

``With Vitali, I was so amazed by his intensity,'' Steward said. ``When he came into the ring, he was a man totally obsessed with winning. ... Vitali was just so much more determined, and all of us in our camp underestimated that.''

Lewis, who was 15-2-1 in world title fights, never fought again. He officially retired last Feb. 6 at 38.

--Spinks-Judah: The co-feature to W. Klitschko-Brewster on Saturday will be Cory Spinks putting his undisputed welterweight championship on the line against Zab Judah (30-1, 22 KOs), the current WBO junior welterweight champion who is moving up in weight.

Spinks (32-2, 13 KOs) was the International Boxing Federation champion when he beat Ricardo Mayorga, who held the WBC and World Boxing Association belts, last December via decision in Atlantic City, N.J.

Judah, of Brooklyn, N.Y., was knocked out by Kostya Tszyu in the second round Nov. 3, 2001, at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Judah went down twice from the same vicious punch, prompting referee Jay Nady to stop the fight.

Judah charged Nady, holding a glove to his chin. Seconds later, Judah threw his stool up into the air. He was later suspended, but is back in Sin City for another crack at an undisputed championship.

``It is behind me now,'' Judah, 26, said of the fiasco. ``Everyone has trials and tribulations. That's what life is about. It was a learning experience for me. ... I feel great coming back to Las Vegas.

``It gives me an opportunity to get back something I lost there. If you lose a diamond on the beach and then you walk along and find another diamond, it's like OK, cool. It does not fill that hole, but it helps the hunger.''