It’s hard to believe that it’s only been four months since former one-time World Boxing Organization heavyweight champion Lamon Brewster (33-4, 29 KOs) was stopped in the 7th round by International Boxing Federation heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko. It seems like ages, especially because of the lack of news about Brewster in the boxing world. Brewster, still only 34, is almost completely forgotten, as if he’s been written off because of the loss to Klitschko. However, the loss shouldn’t be that big of a deal, since Brewster was quite literally insane for fighting Klitschko in the first place, because it had been a year since Brewster had last fought, and even worse, he was coming off a eye surgery to repair a detached retina.
Most sane fighters would have opted to take a warm-up fight, perhaps three to four of them just to get the rust out of their system and to make sure their eye holds up under the pounding. Not Brewster. He instead decided to walk into the lions den and face arguably the best heavyweight in the division when he decided to fight Klitschko. During the bout, and afterwards, many fans, including a number of sports writers, said that Brewster was washed up, finished as a fighter. However, I think Brewster has a lot left in the tank, certainly enough to beat most of the top 10 heavyweights in the division.
When I say that, however, I’m referring to the Brewster when he was fighting aggressively, wading forward and taking four or five shots to deliver one or two of his own. Brewster, for some reason, changed trainers leading up to his bout with Klitschko, a move that shouldn’t have been made because Brewster was a top four heavyweight prior to the change. The new trainer, Buddy Mcgirt, attempted to change Brewster’s style completely, trying to make him over into another Chris Byrd or Roy Jones Jr-type of defensive fighter.
It didn’t take a genius to know that the experiment was doomed for failure, as Brewster has always fought in an aggressive manner, even while fighting in the Olympics. Somehow, Brewster got in his head that he had to avoid punches if he wanted to prolong his career. Instead, the move actually led to what could be an early downfall for Brewster’s career, that is, if he doesn’t change back to his old style before it’s too late. If Brewster does get back to his old self, I can see him beating perhaps all of the heavyweight champions, aside from Wladimir Klitschko. Even Klitschko, would be hard-pressed to beat Brewster if he had his head together and was fighting in the same style as he did in 2004.
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