lamon brewster: how can't you like this guy?

Q&A: Lamon Brewster! April 26, 2007 By Wolfgang Schiffbauer Photo: K2 Promotions Fightnews.com caught up with former heavyweight champion “Relentless” Lamon Brewster at Wednesday's kick-off press conference in Cologne, announcing his July 7 rematch with IBF/IBO kingpin Wladimir Klitschko. In their first bout, Brewster scored a shocking upset when he knocked Klitschko out in five rounds after being on the canvas himself earlier in the bout. Hello Lamon, thanks for taking the time. First of all, does it feel good being back to business after the layoff? It does. I needed a vacation and it was a good vacation but I enjoy being back. You had a long layoff after your bout with Liakhovich cause by an eye injury. Is the eye fully recovered and do you believe you can get in the right shape to beat him (Klitschko) again? Absolutley. I wouldn’t take a fight with a bum if I couldn’t get in the right shape and espacially not a bout against the best heavyweight in the world. Against Liakhovich, you had Buddy McGirt in your corner. Will there be a new trainer or will Buddy work with you again? I’ll work with Buddy. Has training camp already started? We will start camp as soon as we get back to the USA. Since you defeated Klitschko, he's improved quite a bit. What's your opinion about the “new” Wladimir Klitschko? I told everybody to not count him out. Just because of a loss, it didn’t make him a bum. The press, fight fans and many experts said he was down but I always kept saying that he will be back. And now he bounced back, so all of those guys have to eat their words. Do you believe you still own a mental advantage over him? Like I said, he is back and I expect a great fight. He is the best heavyweight in the world and I want to be the best again. And to be the best, you have to beat the best. So he is the only fighter who can bring me to the next level. If you can beat Klitschko again, would you rather look forward to a unification or a possible rematch against Liakhovich, who defeated you almost a year ago? I don’t want to look past Klitschko. I’ll think about that after the fight. What do you think about the other current heavyweight titleholders beside Klitschko? The newly crowned WBA king Ruslan Chagaev, WBC champ Oleg Maskaev and WBO titlelist Shannon Briggs? I don’t really know anything about Chagaev so I can’t say much about him but it had to be a extremly difficult fight to win against this seven-foot and 300 plus pounds giant (Nicolai Valuev). About Briggs, I always thought he had the potential to be a tremendous fighter and he showed it. Maskaev really worked hard and earned the title victory. You split with Don King after the Liakhovich bout. What were the reasons for this? I don’t want to speak about this. But let me say one thing, it’s always better for a fighter to be on his own. How is it to be back in Germany? I feel very comfortable here. The people over here a really nice to me and I feel like I have to put on a great show July 7 for them all. So what's your prediction for the bout? I predict a victory. I believe in God and I will leave it in his hands. Would you like to say something in closing? Like I said, I’m happy to be here. I thank God for this opportunity to fight Wladimir again. He didn’t have to take this bout but he wanted it, so I want to thank him too for accepting this challenge. This is a battle between the two best heavyweights in the world and I believe such a fight is very important for the world of boxing. So tune in on July 7 and you’ll see an amazing championship battle.