Lewis to Fight Tyson Then Klitschko Brothers

Lennox Lewis will fight both the Klitschko brothers after his rematch with Mike Tyson and then retire, his trainer Emanuel Steward said yesterday.

Lewis had pulled out of a fight with Vitali Klitschko but Steward told a German website: "Lennox promised me that he'll beat Tyson first, then Vitali and at the end Wladimir. That's the way the plan looks. After these three fights, it's over."

Germany, where the Kitschkos are based and have had most of their fights, is outraged that the Briton pulled out of his defence against Vitali despite the Ukrainian brothers' promoter Hans-Peter Kohl believing he had a watertight contract for the fight.

It was signed by Vitali Klitschko, Kohl and Lewis's business manager Adrian Ogun, but crucially not by Lewis himself. That apparent loophole has allowed the world heavyweight champion to sidestep the challenge and concentrate instead on a contest with Tyson which will earn him more than double the purse.

Lewis is believed to have been offered about $10m (£6m) to take on Klitschko but will make more than $20m for a renewal of last June's con test, when he stopped Tyson in the eighth round.

The Klitschko camp has suggested that it may take legal action against Lewis, and Kohl has appealed to the World Boxing Council to act. In theory Lewis had a year to defend against his No1 challenger, Vitali Klitschko, after his last fight, and that time will have elapsed by the time he gets into the ring with Tyson.

But, with Tyson's chances of victory seemingly remote, Kohl may feel that autumn fights against the brothers will be money-spinners, especially if they have interim fights to boost their profiles. Wladimir, the WBO champion, is scheduled to fight the South African Corrie Sanders in Hanover on March 8.

"They're the future of the heavyweight division," Steward said of the Klitschkos. "I'm a big fan. For me they're already No2 and 3 behind Lennox."

Frank Warren claimed yesterday that he had offered the European middleweight champion Howard Eastman a world title fight against the WBO world super-middleweight champion Joe Calzaghe last year but that Eastman had declined, "saying he could have easy warm-up fights on the BBC instead".

Warren, Calzaghe's promoter, was responding to calls from Eastman for a fight against the Welshman after he won the European title by beating the Frenchman Christophe Tendil on Tuesday.

Warren criticised Eastman's promoter Mick Hennessy, saying: "It is insulting to suggest Joe Calzaghe has been fighting bums. It is difficult to match the best super-middleweight in the world and he has always responded to every challenge he has ever faced. More than that, he hasn't lost a fight in 13 years."

Eastman has won three times since losing a world title challenge against William Joppy in November 2001, and claims he is ready for Calzaghe or one of the world middleweight champions.

But Warren argued: "Before he signed with Don King I offered Eastman a fight with the WBO middleweight champion Harry Simon. Then, after Eastman's agreement with King expired, I offered him Simon and Calzaghe but he didn't want to know.

"What has he done to merit fighting Calzaghe, who, remember, has beaten the world champions Chris Eubank, Richie Woodhall, Robin Reid and Charles Brewer? Eastman is nearly 33 but who has he ever beaten? He's been a pro since 1994, so why get excited now?

"Tendil was ranked 66th in the world, so how does a win over him suddenly make Eastman a world-beater?"