By Jake Donovan
There’s no place like home for the holidays, or for the next step of your comeback tour.
Former heavyweight titlist “Relentless” Lamon Brewster enjoys the best of both worlds this weekend, as he will be in his Indianapolis for Thanksgiving Thursday, as well as his Saturday night clash with fellow former titlist Bruce Seldon.
The bout will be the second since his return to the ring three months ago. His fifth round knockout of Danny Batchelder put Brewster in the win column for the first time in nearly three years, though the fights purpose extended far greater than snapping a two-fight losing streak.
For the first time in his career, Brewster was in total control in and out of the ring, pulling double duty as both fighter and the show’s promoter. Several other fighters in his position have done the same, though have kept it in their backyard, and almost always against a complete no-hoper to eliminate the risk of being embarrassed in front of the hometown crowd.
Brewster opted to make his comeback in Cincinnati, two hours from Indy. Close enough to where his most faithful fans could still feasibly make the trek, but far enough away from home to where he can save the best for the next time around.
“I couldn't have done this without the Danny Batchelder fight,” admits Brewster, who knew his first fight in more than a year would come with it fair share of kinks to work out. “I was coming off of an injury, a detached retina, and hadn’t fought in more than a year.
“I’ve always wanted to fight in my hometown, but wanted to make sure everything was right before taking that step.”
It wasn’t picture perfect, but the fight served its purpose. As expected, Brewster was slow coming out of the gate before picking up steam and eventually taking over.
“(Batchelder) was wise enough to not stand right in front of me,” recalls Brewster. “He offered good movement. I knew my skills were there, but he helped test my conditioning as well.”
Outlasting his opponents was actually a big part of Brewster’s makeup during his previous heavyweight tour. Most notable among the lot, of course, was his knockout win over Wladimir Klitschko – “the last time he lost,” Brewster is quick to point out.
The fight didn’t come without its drama, nothing new for your standard Lamon Brewster affair. Klitschko dropped the iron-chinned Brewster in the fourth round of a fight he’d dominated from jump. However, he ran out of gas in the fifth round, the same point in which Brewster gained his second wind and began swinging for the fences.
Realized by rounds end was a dream come true, winning a portion of the heavyweight title. The timing was perfect, coming at the end of the Lennox Lewis era, a time where boxing fans were in search of its next heavyweight hero.
While Brewster proved to be the most entertaining among the lot, what he was not was the division’s definitive leader. Defenses against the likes of Kali Meehan and Luan Krasniqi underlined his will and determination, but also saw him fall way behind early and have to depend on dramatic comebacks and standoffs in order to prevail.
The one exception during his reign was the May 2005 title defense sandwiched in between the aforementioned fights, one of many occasions where Brewster was forced to perform in front of a hostile crowd. This one took place about three hours from his hometown, when he met Andrew Golota in Chicago, which claims the country’s largest Polish-American community.
Such statistics made for a rabid crowd of more than 20,000 many of whom believed the fourth time would be the charm for Golota, who fell short in his three prior title shots, including back to back controversial decisions, going 0-1-1 in fights most fans felt he deserved the nod.
The bout against Brewster, however, went more along the lines of his very first title shot, a quick blowout against Lennox Lewis in 1997. As quick and humiliating as that night might’ve been, this was even worse; Brewster floored Golota seconds into the fight, and lived up to his “Relentless” nickname, scoring two more knockdowns before forcing a stoppage just 52 seconds into the evening.
It was one of two knockouts he would score that year – or three, if you count the two tries in one fight it took to get rid of Krasniqi when he traveled to Germany later that year. Brewster had Krasniqi down and out in the eighth round, only to fall victim to an obscenely long count that granted the hometown challenger more than 15 seconds to recover.
Brewster knew better than to let up, closing the show in the very next round of what would be his last successful title defense. Seven months later would mark the beginning of the end of the old Lamon Brewster. His 12-round war with Sergei Lyakhovich proved to be an instant classic, but also the end of his title reign as he spotted the Belarusian too many early rounds in ultimately falling short by night’s end.
Losing the fight wasn’t the real killer – Brewster had overcome prior defeats to still serve as a relevant force in the heavyweight division. Of greater concern to his career was that he left the fight in far worse condition than when the night began, having suffered a detached retina early, and taking far too much punishment throughout the fight.
A 15-month break followed, at which point he believed he was ready to once again become a force in a heavyweight division starving for leadership. An offer to rematch Wladimir Klitschko, this time in Germany, was accepted by Brewster without second thought, only to find out six rounds later that he took the fight for all of the wrong reasons.
“I went in with the mentality that, I knocked out him once, I can do it again,” Brewster admits in looking back at the lone stoppage loss of his career, currently 12 years and running. “So I took the fight, but not just because I thought in my mind that I could beat him again, but because they offered me so much money, more than I ever made even when I had the title. “
“He did his homework, and it turned out to be his night. But he can't be content with the win over me because he never hurt me, never knocked me down. My trainer was concerned about my eye, and decided to stop the fight. I trust my team, it was a good call, but I never quit.”
His own pride caused him to ignore the signs his own body was trying to reveal.
“I tore my shoulder in the fight. I wasn't throwing any left hooks, and couldn't figure out in my mind what was going on.”
Nor was he sure what would be his next step. Coming off of two straight losses and no longer a spring chicken, retirement was among the first thoughts to cross his mind.
“I went through the pros and cons, thinking about my age – anytime you lose you start to lose you go through the negatives.
“So I took some time off, went to the doctor to heal and then got my mind right.”
The latter part is the only reason why, at 35, he firmly believes that there remains hope for one last day in the sun.
“I got my grown man strength, and stronger than I've ever been. The older you get, when you're in your prime that true strength comes in. My father told me, ‘when you hit 30 you find out strong you truly are.’ This time I have the wisdom to go along with the muscles and punching power.”
Included in the wisdom was his decision to take full control of his own career. After a career of serving at the mercy of other promoters, including Don King for much of this decade, Brewster has now formed his own promotional company, “Relentless Events.”
No longer is money a concern – not that he’s clearing a handsome ransom; just the knowledge that he doesn’t have to worry about games being played with his paycheck.
“When I think about fighting, naturally I think about money. I feel happy to know that I'm getting everything I deserve. I do care (about money), but all I want to do is win. You put your effort into it, sacrificing, eating right, not hanging with your friends - those sacrifices are greater, and it’s for that reason that the financial part hurts more when promoters – some of these guys, millionaires – want to mess with your head and your livelihood over $5,000 or $10,000.”
With that distraction out of the way, Brewster now just has to worry about fighting – and of course, winning. No specific timetable is offered for when he again fights for the title; when his house is in order is when he’ll know that it’s time to once again pursue the spotlight.
“When I first prepared for this comeback, I said to myself, three fights,” Brewster explains. “The opposition doesn’t matter all that much because I'm getting the best boxing in the world sparring with one of my ring idols, James Toney. He’s still sharp and dangerous, which only helps me. I also have Javier Mora, who's an absolute beast in the gym.”
It was his ability to get in quality work with Toney that helped Brewster realize that there was no time like the present for a comeback.
“I got back into the ring with James Toney helping him prepare for Rahman, and that boosted my confidence. I'm on the trail again, but as a new Lamon Brewster.
“I had the heart, determination and skill level, but my mind wasn't that of a man in his 30's. Now I'm there and everything's in sync.”
Naturally, Brewster expects to have his share of skeptics. Boxing fans have heard all too often the tale of a past-his-prime fighter ready to conquer the world, only to fall flat on his face in his poorest efforts to deceive the public.
But to those who question his ability to climb back to the top, he offers his previous conqueror as the greatest example of reasons to at least give him the benefit of the doubt.
“I always use Wlad as an analogy – I was the last man to beat him, at which point everyone counted him out. He stayed in the gym, he stayed sharp, listening to his trainer, and now all of a sudden is the greatest thing since Jesus Christ.
“It just goes to show you, it's not how you start, but how you finish.”
The finish line is nowhere near in sight for Brewster at the moment, nor will the allure of a super-sized payday accelerate the comeback beyond his desired pace.
“I've worked too hard to sell myself for a paycheck,” Brewster insists. “If I do things right, the money will be there anyway.”
All he wants for now is exactly what he gets this weekend – the opportunity to fight in front the adoring cheers of his hometown faithful.
“This fight is the homecoming. I haven't fought here since I was 17 years old. I've been to everyone's backyard, been to everyone's country, so now I'm ready to come home.”