By Lyle Fitzsimmons
Oh sure, Grady Brewer knows the score.
Or to be more precise, all of them.
He knows he's 38 years old, which disqualifies him from legitimate title consideration in the eyes of some. He knows he's got double-digit losses on his record, which causes others to ignore the circumstances -- not to mention the 25 wins -- that share space on his resume.
And he knows his first shot at a world championship -- the IBO's title at 154 pounds -- is being largely ignored because, well -- it's the IBO.
But that doesn't mean he has to acknowledge the slights.
"People need to start realizing that I know how to fight," said Brewer, who'll meet former prospect Anthony Thompson at the Pala (Calif.) Casino Spa & Resort on Aug. 22.
"A lot of guys just go out there and try to get by on their natural talent, but I've learned how to use my mind in a fight and that gives me an advantage over someone with just pure talent."
Brewer has faced all sorts of talent since turning pro in 1999, including reigning middleweight titlist Kelly Pavlik, ex-160-pound kingpin Jermain Taylor and recent title challengers and/or top contenders Peter Manfredo Jr., Marco Antonio Rubio, Jose Luis Zertuche and Sechew Powell.
Problem is, with losses in all six of those fights -- and five others -- it's been a long struggle for Brewer to even gain a shot at respectability, let alone actually achieve it.
"Every time I'd fight one of these guys, like a Jermain Taylor, he'd come to me with five or so weeks of preparation," Brewer said. "And for Taylor, that was his longest fight at that point, eight rounds. So I was in the fights with these guys. I might not have gotten the decisions, but I was in the fights.
"And these were guys that didn't have to work side jobs and put in 10 hours right before the fight like I was doing. I just knew that if I kept going, God would get me through."
The tide began turning for the Lawton, Okla. resident with his participation in season two of "The Contender" series on ESPN, which ended with him defeating former 130-pound world title claimant Steve Forbes by split 10-round decision for the show's championship.
A two-year stretch of injury inactivity followed, but Brewer returned in 2008 and has won three straight fights, including an IBO title-eliminator against fellow Contender alumnus Cornelius Bundrage.
He was originally scheduled to meet Russian-born slugger Zaurbek Baysangurov in the IBO championship match, but Baysangurov was scrubbed after he "was not responsive to communication from the promoter," according to IBO President Ed Levine.
Into the vacancy stepped Thompson, whom Brewer stopped in three rounds back in 2004 -- when Thompson was a pristine 15-0 and Brewer a supposedly less- threatening 15-8.
Thompson is 9-2 since the loss, including a controversial defeat last August against Ishmail Arvin -- who won when their fight was stopped on cuts at the end of the sixth round.
Brewer is 9-3.
"Anthony Thompson is No. 18 in our computer rankings and got a raw deal in his fight in Washington D.C.," Levine said. "The local commission would not reverse his loss even though subsequent review of the video clearly showed his (eye) injury was caused by a head butt. Had it gone to the cards he would have won that fight and moved up in the ratings.
"Grady Brewer's record is not indicative of his stature. His losses took place some time ago and since that time he has strung together many consecutive wins, including 'The Contender' series and a win in an IBO eliminator against Cornelius Bundrage. Bundrage, you may note, is now subjectively rated in the IBF at No. 2 and Grady Brewer at No. 13."
Additionally, Thompson is ranked No. 17 by the WBC.
Brewer is unranked by any other major sanctioning body.
"I'm very familiar with the IBO. I know a lot of guys have held their belts. Tarver. Klitschko. Hatton. And the guy who just beat him, Manny Pacquiao," he said. "They're all guys who've put on the IBO belts and they're considered world champions. It's a sanctioned belt.
"So if I win the fight, yes, I'll definitely be a world champion. I feel over 36 fights it's recognition that is overdue, so I'll definitely defend the belt and put it up against any of the other belts."
Andy Pierce and Edward Halligan will handle the bulk of Brewer's training camp duties, though he did mention a possible alliance with former female world champion Ann Wolfe later in the process.
Wolfe, who’s not fought since 2006, trains unbeaten 154-pound prospect James Kirkland.
But regardless of the lead voice in camp and the corner, Brewer said the prep time will be an asset.
"Anthony Thompson is not a worry to me," he said. "I'm actually going to have more preparation time for this fight than I've ever had in my career, so I'm liking it. I almost don't know what to do with myself, but I want to make sure and take full advantage.
"I've been fighting guys my whole career who were able to do all sorts of things in preparation that I wasn't able to do, so I'm looking forward to it and to how confident it'll make me feel in the ring."
And as for a career finish line, don't expect it anytime soon.
"I don't really feel that I have to do this. I want to. I feel like I have a lot to prove to the world and a lot of money that's out there for me to make," Brewer said. "The only one who can really answer the question for me is God, so I'll just go until I can't go no more.
"And I don't know when that day will be. It might be when I'm 61."
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In this week’s breaking news (or, sort of…) department, Bob Arum announced Monday that a fall showdown between WBO welterweight champion Miguel Cotto and IBO junior welterweight title-holder Manny Pacquiao is “signed, sealed and soon to be delivered” on Nov. 14 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
Arum said a publicity tour is set for “right after Labor Day” for the bout, which will be broadcast on pay-per-view by HBO. Neither an agreed-to weight nor a championship belt on the line were specified, though it’s been widely assumed the two would be competing for Cotto’s title at a contracted weight somewhere between 143 and 145 pounds.
Assuming Arum’s previous statements about a catch-weight prove correct and the fight indeed comes off at something less than 147 pounds, my initial reaction of frustration will stand.
Now, before the e-mails begin… I know Pacquiao is the biggest thing in the sport today.
I know writers and promoters and analysts and fans have been bending backward in a stretch for the most profound way to describe him as a throwback to better days and compare his recent run of dominance to that established by Henry Armstrong in the 30s and 40s.
Problem is, no matter how many times it’s insisted, it’s still wrong.
Manny’s a great fighter. And his elite status at 130 pounds with a win – albeit a close one – over Juan Manuel Marquez is evidence enough of his pound-for-pound prowess.
But before too many more mentions are made of Armstrong, let’s first remember that the subsequent rise to title status at 135 pounds was not made with a three-belt champion like Nate Campbell on the agenda, but instead with a lesser-regarded and more favorable stylistic match in David Diaz serving as the punching bag of choice.
The brutal shellacking of Oscar De La Hoya six months later was surely impressive and rightfully earned kudos, but the Golden Boy’s seemingly imprudent weight loss casts at least something of a shadow, as does the reality that his seven-year absence from the welterweight division hardly makes his conqueror an automatic claimant to that weight class’s throne.
No argument applies to Pacquiao’s recent punch-out of Ricky Hatton at 140, where he clearly defeated the best a division had to offer and established himself as its new top man, but a rise of just a few extra pounds to meet Cotto at an artificial stand-in point opens precisely the same can of doubting worms as the previous match with a shrunken Oscar.
And while I understand that status as reigning big-fight cash cow gives Manny the leverage he needs to set the business terms, it’d be nice to hear purists go the same lengths to raise red flags about cheap imitations of “welterweight championship” bouts as they do while breathlessly likening the Filipino whirlwind to multi-division legends of decades past.
As for the fight itself, it’s a bad mix for Cotto no matter where it occurs… I’ll take Pacquiao in 10.
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This week’s title-fight schedule:
SATURDAY
WBA light flyweight title – Nuevo Vallarta, Mexico
Giovanni Segura (champion) vs. Sonny Boy Jaro (No. 13 contender)
Segura (20-1-1, 16 KO): First title defense; Awarded “regular” title on June 5
Jaro (30-7-5, 19 KO): Lost WBC title fight in 2008; Two straight wins by first-round KO
FitzHitz says: Segura by decision
WBA lightweight title – Windhoek, Namibia
Paulus Moses (champion) vs. Takehiro Shimada (No. 13 contender)
Moses (24-0, 17 KO): First title defense; Eighth fight at venue (7-0, 4 KO)
Shimada (23-4-1, 16 KO): Lost 130-pound title fight in 2008; First fight outside Japan
FitzHitz says: Moses by decision
Last week’s picks: 3-1
Overall picks record: 20-6 (76.9 percent)
Lyle Fitzsimmons, who’s rarely met a contrarian viewpoint he didn’t like, is an award-winning 20-year sports journalist and a full voting member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. Reach him at fitzbitz@msn.com or follow him at twitter.com/fitzbitz
