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21 LEWIS is also convinced the 40-year-old would never have lost to Tyson Fury with Stew- ard in his corner, and that Klitschko's biggest challenge in preparing for his April 29 fight with Joshua comes in shifting his focus from Fury. Steward was widely considered the greatest trainer in boxing history at the point of his death, from complications following surgery for the stomach condi- tion diverticulosis, at the age of 68 in October 2012. In addition to overseeing the finest years of the careers of greats like Lewis and Tommy Hearns, he is also credited with rebuilding Klitschko's in 2004 after he was knocked out twice in 13 months. Steward was influential in the appointment of fellow American Johnathon Banks as his succes- sor as Klitschko's trainer, but it was under Banks the Ukrainian unexpectedly lost his first fight in 11 years to Fury in 2015. In April at Wembley Stadium he could be fighting to rescue his career against the highly-prom- ising Joshua, but Lewis' familiar- ity with Steward's abilities have led him to believe the trainer's presence could have made eve- rything so different. "If Manny was still here, Klitschko would still be the champion, and he would be a better fighter," Lewis, 51, told Press Association Sport. "I would have made him the fa- vourite to beat Joshua if Manny Steward was here. "It's a big loss, because he needed Emanuel, and it's really hard to replace Emanuel. In es- sence he's training himself, and he can't train himself because Manny set out a number of dif- ferent things you could do in dif- ferent situations. I know them all. I know he has that experi- ence level. "Who has more experi- ence (out of Klitschko and the 34-year-old Banks)? Who can tell who what to do? It really depends if Klitschko's listening to Banks. In his last fight when he lost, he wasn't listening, but Banks was telling him the right things. "It's the respect aspect too; if he has respect for that train- er. The fact he's keeping him around shows me he has respect for him, and he may feel he didn't listen last time, and may listen this time." April's fight, for Joshua's IBF title and the WBA title Fury last held, is expected to attract a record post-war British boxing crowd of 90,000. It will also be Klitschko's first for 18 months, which means he risks ring-rust against the busi- er 27-year-old Joshua, but Lewis believes a greater difficulty could be handling his desire to avenge the Fury defeat. "He's lost his belts, then he has to wait to fight a guy a whole bunch a months," said the for- mer world heavyweight cham- pion. "The guy he wants to fight has problems so can't face him, so he has to wait again. "Then they put another guy in front of him and say 'You've got to box this guy'. It's not the guy on his mind, that he wants to beat. Now he has to re-pro- gramme his mind to beat this young, strong, good looking guy that punches through walls and can punch a horse and knock him out. "Now he has to focus on this guy: can he do it? Can he pro- gramme his mind that way? This is the question." Sport BOXING FOOTBALL maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 8 FEBRUARY 2017 Tough for Klitschko - Lenox Lewis Lennox Lewis believes Wladimir Klitschko would beat Anthony Joshua if his trainer Manny Steward was still alive Anthony Joshua vs Wladimir Klitschko Ibrahimovic hungry for more goals at Man. United MANCHESTER United striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic is refusing to rest on his laurels after becoming the oldest player to net 15 goals in a Premier League season when he scored in Sunday's 3-0 win at Leicester City. The 35-year-old has shrugged off suggestions he may struggle to adapt to the pace and inten- sity of the English game, scoring 20 goals in all competitions since moving to Old Trafford on a free transfer in July. "I have a target in my head but I will not say it, and we are not there yet," Ibrahimovic, who is al- so the first United player to reach the 20-goal mark since Robin van Persie did in the 2012-13 season, told British media. United are unbeaten in their last 15 league games and sit sixth in the table, just two points be- hind fourth-placed Arsenal, who hold the final Champions League qualification spot, after 24 games. When asked if his side were back in the hunt for the Champi- ons League places, Ibrahimovic said: "I think so. It was a big gap a few months ago but it is smaller now. I think we are our own en- emy. "If we had won our games and got the points we should have got then the situation would be to- tally different but okay, we look at the other teams and hopefully they lose points." United host 10th-placed Wat- ford on Saturday. Leicester back Claudio Ranieri Leicester have announced in a statement their "unwavering support" for manager Claudio Ranieri A miserable run of results has left the defending Premier League champions facing a rel- egation battle, with Ranieri's future coming under increasing scrutiny. However, the club issued a statement yesterday afternoon providing a vote of confidence for the 65-year-old who it seems will get the opportunity to sal- vage Leicester's season. Leicester Statement In Full "In light of recent speculation Leicester City Football Club would like to make absolutely clear its unwavering support for its first team manager Claudio Ranieri. "While there is a collective appreciation from everyone at the club that recent form needs to improve, the unprecedented success achieved in recent sea- sons has been based firmly on stability, togetherness and de- termination to overcome even the greatest of challenges. "The entire club is, and will remain, united behind its man- ager and behind its players, col- lectively and firmly focused on the challenges ahead." Claudio Ranieri