Tweet
by David P. Greisman - Wladimir Klitschko’s first helping of Lamon Brewster left him with a bad taste in his mouth.
What started with Klitschko serving Brewster a steady diet of damage ended with Klitschko himself eating shots and, ultimately, the canvas. And if that April 2004 loss was a bitter enough pill to swallow, some in Klitschko’s camp laid the blame on a drink of possibly poisoned water, allegedly tainted H2O that left Klitschko gassed out and running on little but fumes.
Years later, Klitschko wanted seconds.
Losses in 1998 and 2003, to Ross Puritty and Corrie Sanders, respectively, were avenged afterward by Wladimir’s older brother Vitali. With Vitali just coming back from retirement, this time it would be Wladimir making up for his earlier defeat by handing Brewster a bruising, roasting a challenger who would end up a sacrificial Lamon.
Brewster was coming out of a 15-month layoff, time spent away from the ring due to a detached retina suffered in a brutal battle last year against Sergei Liakhovich. That bout saw Brewster drop the title he had gained two years earlier by stopping Wladimir Klitschko. Unbeknownst to most, the Liakhovich loss was also the proverbial final straw that led to the disappearance of Brewster’s trademark fighting spirit.
“I definitely want to make him fight,” Brewster said in a pre-fight interview with HBO’s Larry Merchant. “His stamina is good, but he ain’t got dog in him as I feel he do, so I gotta go in there and be the dog.”
Brewster was all bark and no bite.
An opening spurt aside, Brewster came out flat and flat-footed, not fleet, but fleeting. The bobbing and hooking that had laid out Klitschko, Andrew Golota and Luan Krasniqi was largely nonexistent, neutralized by an opponent who imposed distance and a fighter who appeared distant.
“He was just a better man tonight,” Brewster said to Merchant post-fight. “He had an awesome jab, and I tried to get past it, you know, and I couldn’t. Through an accumulation of punches, I knew at some point I couldn’t keep getting hit like that. I have a wife and I have four kids, and I want to be in my right mind to be able to speak to them down the road. [details]
What started with Klitschko serving Brewster a steady diet of damage ended with Klitschko himself eating shots and, ultimately, the canvas. And if that April 2004 loss was a bitter enough pill to swallow, some in Klitschko’s camp laid the blame on a drink of possibly poisoned water, allegedly tainted H2O that left Klitschko gassed out and running on little but fumes.
Years later, Klitschko wanted seconds.
Losses in 1998 and 2003, to Ross Puritty and Corrie Sanders, respectively, were avenged afterward by Wladimir’s older brother Vitali. With Vitali just coming back from retirement, this time it would be Wladimir making up for his earlier defeat by handing Brewster a bruising, roasting a challenger who would end up a sacrificial Lamon.
Brewster was coming out of a 15-month layoff, time spent away from the ring due to a detached retina suffered in a brutal battle last year against Sergei Liakhovich. That bout saw Brewster drop the title he had gained two years earlier by stopping Wladimir Klitschko. Unbeknownst to most, the Liakhovich loss was also the proverbial final straw that led to the disappearance of Brewster’s trademark fighting spirit.
“I definitely want to make him fight,” Brewster said in a pre-fight interview with HBO’s Larry Merchant. “His stamina is good, but he ain’t got dog in him as I feel he do, so I gotta go in there and be the dog.”
Brewster was all bark and no bite.
An opening spurt aside, Brewster came out flat and flat-footed, not fleet, but fleeting. The bobbing and hooking that had laid out Klitschko, Andrew Golota and Luan Krasniqi was largely nonexistent, neutralized by an opponent who imposed distance and a fighter who appeared distant.
“He was just a better man tonight,” Brewster said to Merchant post-fight. “He had an awesome jab, and I tried to get past it, you know, and I couldn’t. Through an accumulation of punches, I knew at some point I couldn’t keep getting hit like that. I have a wife and I have four kids, and I want to be in my right mind to be able to speak to them down the road. [details]
Comment