10.04.04 – By Izyaslav “Slava” Koza – Novirasputin@hotmail.com – Well, in my previous article, I mentioned something along the lines of a “Rocky-like upset,” whilst doing a write up for this match, and that is exactly what I saw tonight on HBO. To be honest, I gave Brewster no chance, and I had never even seen him fight. My thinking was clear, if this guy lost to Shufford, who Vlad beat BAD, what can Lamon bring to the table? In a word, the guy brought something most fighters today seem to lack, and something I did not consider, and that is Heart.
First, lets give credit where credit is due. Lamon Brewster promised a victory at whatever the cost, and like UPS, he delivered. Sure, a lot of fighters like to say this to fire themselves and the crowd up, but how many times has it actually happened? I would bet not very many.
Second, although Vladimir Klitschko is being written off by basically everybody at this point, I am not blind and emotional enough to sign the release. In this loss, Vladimir showed exactly why most experts hype him, and that is due to his awesome boxing skills. I was amazed to see that Vladimir landed almost as many punches as Brewster threw, with everything coming off a beautiful shotgun jab that seemed to pack an extra helping of cement on the follow up. Also, he started the show with an obvious “Americanized” movement (i.e. pre first-round bell jumping), and an almost “Ruiz-like” amount of clinching. Was this clinch strategy a good idea to take into the ring? Well that all depends. Was Vladimir being hurt enough by Brewster to warrant the holding?
In my opinion, although it was necessary for Vladimir to keep this clinching ability in his arsenal, it was plain unnecessary to do, and in some small way, might have contributed to his loss of stamina. What possible point is there to clinch your opponent when your landing with everything but that kitchen sink, and not being hit back? It only gave Brewster an opportunity to regroup, and regain his strength. Plus, it gave him an opportunity to do a bit of in-fighting. I think Emmanuel Steward should have told Vladimir to stop clinching after round 1, when it was obvious that Brewster had basically been put in his shell, and gotten into the “one lucky punch” survival mode.
I also do not think Vladimir lost because of how hard Brewster hits. In the 3rd round, when Harold Lederman made a huge fuss about Brewster’s single “effective” punch, Merchant told him exactly what was on my mind and that is “one punch does not win a round.” Vladimir took the punch well enough, even though it seemed he was stunned. It was more of a jab that caught him off balance, and instead of coming in for a clinch, I think Vladimir should have put some distance between himself and Brewster. It was obvious the Sanders loss had some effect on him in taking punches, and not the amount of power Brewster had. It seemed very similar to John Ruiz’s fighting strategy, who has fought the exact same “scared” way since his devastating 19 second knockout loss to Tua. The only difference between Ruiz and Vladimir, is Vladimir actually has skill. He can keep his opponent at bay with his beautiful jab, and either force them to quit, or decision them like he did Chris Byrd.
Still, I’m shocked by the outcome of tonight’s fight. I cannot help but think how is it that Brewster pulled off the upset? He was being completely annihilated throughout the duration of the fight, and showed no signs of even having any reserves left, especially after round four. The only logical conclusion I can come up with, is that Brewster played possum. The knockdown in the fourth round seems indicative of this radical idea. Brewster might have purposefully exaggerated the effects of Vladimir’s punching power, and stumbled around the ring and fell to show he was more hurt then he actually was. If this is the case, credit should again go to Brewster for the best acting performance of the year. Interestingly enough, there is no rule that I’m aware of that suggests a fighter cannot overact the ill affects of his condition in the ring. Vladimir, duped like most of us and as it seems tired, thought another round of tense unyielding “steelhammer-like” pressure, would put Brewster where so many other Klitschko victims have been, and that is “down and out.”
Honestly, even I could not see that Wladimir had, as the crudest of fans always put it, “blown his load.” In his corner. he was not puffing and panting like we usually see an exhausted fighter do, and there was no cause for concern, about that being the case. I would like to believe Emanuel Steward should have seen it coming, but I cannot get on Manny’s case for believing Vladimir ever had trouble with conditioning after the Purrity fight. Vladimir looked completely solid for 4 rounds round’s. What possible reason could there be to think he was done? Of course, if it does turn out Brewster played possum, as I suspect he did, it is not Steward’s fault for telling him to finish Lamon off in the fifth.
I only realized there was a problem with Vladimir after one of the clinches in the fifth. As soon as the referee had untangled them, Vladimir’s hands were limp at his sides, indicative of his current state. After that point, I should have known nothing could save him. Vladimir was out on his feet, and it had nothing to do with Brewster’s punching; It was due to Vladimir’s overconfidence, which had burst at the seems when Brewster was still standing at the beginning of round 5.
The end of the fight is really nothing too spectacular to write about. Typical hand movement from Brewster to show Vladimir is in no condition to continue, and a halt to the contest when Vladimir goes down head first. Brewster did not show anything other finishers do not show in similar situations. He finished a hurt fighter. It just so happens that it was Vladimir Klitschko. Credit to Brewster for realizing this, but it in no way indicates he has extraordinary skill.
I think the referee, Robert Byrd, did a mediocre job tonight. While I completely applaud his giving Vladimir all sorts of chances to recover after he was knocked down in the 5th round, but it was obvious to all that Vlad was badly hurt and needed the fight to be stopped. However, I think he wanted to be too involved in the action. In one instance, I remember him trying to separate the fighters as they were fighting on the inside, and almost getting hit with a punch. There was also an extraordinary amount of ridiculous warnings in the fight. Many of them had to do with Vladimir ending up on top of Brewster. For some reason, the ref thought Vladimir was pushing him down, when in fact, it is natural for him to end up on top of Brewster, who would come in low to avoid the assault. In one instance, the referee decided to warn Vladimir because Brewster had ended up with his back turned to Klitschko, and the referee assumed the Ukrainian had spun him around, when there was absolutely no contact on either fighter’s part. In round four, previous to the knockdown of Brewster, Byrd ruled a slip that was obviously a legit knockdown that came off a clear combination to Brewster’s chin. Again, I wouldn’t say all this meddling effected the outcome of the fight, but it was definitely unnecessary and took away from what, in essence, was a very entertaining contest.
The corners of both fighters also did not do a spectacular job. Although I can see that Emmanuel Steward was obviously just as put off by Vladimir’s sudden loss of strength as I was. Some of his instructions in between rounds were plain bizarre. I did not like his continual praise, along the lines of “perfect fight” and “great job.” A parrot can say all these things if you teach it properly, and I don’t think Vladimir needed to hear this, even if it seemed true. Somehow, I think Vladimir was plenty confident until the 5th round, and didn’t need anyone to tell him this. However, he lacked any clear direction of a course when Brewster withstood the 1st round assault from him. I think that Steward should have definitely told him to abandon the clinching strategy after the first round. Even after the fourth round knockdown, Vlad should have been warned by Stewart to start pacing himself, as he was visibly losing energy. He should have been told by Steward to take a round or two off to get catch his second wind. Steward should have been wise enough to tell Vlad to back off from his knockout strategy and to just box from the outside. This is how Vladimir lost to both Corrie Sanders and Ross Puritty. Instead of boxing them and protecting his chin, he went out and tried to flatten them and got knocked out for his poor decision making. Vladimir needs to face the facts about himself: He is a 6’7”, 245 pound boxer, and should steer clear of trying to knockout people. I mean, it’s nice if it happens, but clearly Vladimir’s chin & stamina just isn’t good enough for him to be a knockout artist.
As for Brewster’s corner, I could not understand why they were telling him to go to the body & head, when it was obvious that Brewster was not doing anything to force himself inside to so he could land. All Brewster was capable of doing, it seemed, was to rush in and grab Vlad and wrestle around. It seemed to me, Brewster’s corner would have been better off giving instructions to Zab Judah, who had no trouble finding his opponent’s head and body, albeit not often enough to win.
Another little thing that bothered me was Roy Jones’s commentary after the fight. It seems he was completely jubilant at the thought of Vladimir losing. I have great respect for Roy the boxer, but as a commentator, I think he let too much emotion and bias show through. I am referring to the nasty post-fight comment he had made about Vladimir fighting Butterbean, or ending his career because of his stamina and conditioning problems. I don’t recall Jones being as talkative when his friend Chris Byrd came back from Germany with a swelled up face, after sustaining a terrible twelve round decision loss, in which Klitschko had no stamina and conditioning problems sending Byrd to the canvas in the 9th and 11th. I’d like to see how well Jones would do in a fight with Vladimir. In my opinion, I couldn’t see Jones winning one round.
Finally I would like to say, I do not think Brewster will hold on to this belt very long, if he fights a serious contender. I cannot doubt his heart and courage, which came out in full force to summon himto victory tonight, but he cannot base his whole career on the loss of his trainer to motivate him. Eventually, as with all Don King fighters, money or some such similar shallow matter will dictate his efforts, and he will go down. Irregardless of what anyone may think, I have tremendous respect for Lamon Brewster. He faced the kind of adversity we read about in books, or see on Hollywood screens, and he bested it with that mythical “one-two punch.” However, I am realistic about his chances in the future of boxing.
As far as Vladimir goes, I think this is by far the worst loss of his career, and it is even more damaging than is knockout loss to Corrie Sanders. His expression and movement after the fight, were simply zombie-like, and his eyes seemed to express pure gagging and breathlessness. I sincerely hope he is ok, and I also believe, if he has any sort of heart, this is the one loss he can bounce back from. He has to abandon everything, the interviews, the fame, the “dream” of being champion, and simply go into a shell of seclusion and attempt to make another run at it. He has to see that, in the end, no matter how many writers and fans pick him to win, in the end it is all up to him. If he truly wants that success he speaks about so passionately, only he can do it. If not, then he is just another one of those guys that do not have what it takes, and that if nothing else, is the truth.