By Frank Gonzalez Jr. April 2nd, 2006 – Photo by Tom Casino / SHOWTIME – The HW division is like water. It is formless. The time is ripe for someone to step up, take over, and become the form that towers over the others.
Congratulations to “The New” WBO, Heavyweight Champion of the World, Sergei “The White Wolf” Liakhovich of Belarus, who was ranked 13th by the WBO before his undisputed Unanimous Decision victory over Lamon Brewster. For Sergei, it was an impressive display of skillful boxing, strategic use of round time, defensive mobility, heart and will to win. Congrats also go to Lamon Brewster, who has been a good Ambassador for the sport during his reign as WBO Champion. All good things come to an end and Saturday night in Cleveland, Brewster’s time was up…for now.
To his credit, Brewster gave a good account of his improvements as a better-balanced fighter. To his demise, he spent too much time head hunting instead of body thumping and consequently wasted too much energy when he rallied. When Brewster landed flush shots, Liakhovich showed a hell of a chin. His mobility also enabled him to slip many of Brewster’s shots or at least take the steam off of them.
By the mid point of the fight, Brewster’s energy was low and he was taking a lot of punishing shots from Liakhovich. At times, like in the sixth and ninth rounds, Brewster was on the verge of being knocked out. His chin held up but his stamina did not. In spite of his lead on the scorecards, Liakhovich took a lot of chances, getting in close and slugging with the
slugger. In his mind, he KNEW he could and would beat Lamon Brewster.
After the eighth round pummeling administered by Sergei, Lamon was never the same. He plodded through the remaining rounds, on occasion, rallying, albeit, unsuccessfully as Liakhovich raked up the points with clean, combination punches and looking like a man ready to fight another ten rounds as he bounced on his feet and controlled the ring.
Overall, it was a hell of a fight. During the post fight interviews, Liakhovich was humble and grateful for the grand opportunity afforded him. He credited Brewster and said that it was his time.
Brewster was also gracious and complimentary. He did say there was a rematch clause and wanted to exercise it. Liakhovich agreed that they would do it again. If Brewster continues to improve his technique and comes in better condition next time, he might get his Title back. Liakhovich is a very good boxer that throws lots of combinations and has an ever-improving defense. Watch out for a great rematch on the horizon.
As a fan, I wish there was a Tournament among the IBF, WBA, WBC and WBO Champions to decide who is number one, who is the REAL Champion of the World. But forget about ONE, unified Champion defending the Title against top seeded contenders. For the Sanctioning Bodies, it’s more profitable having a bunch of Champions, all paying heavy sanctioning fees than just one. So, forget about unification. Unfortunately, that’s not happening.
If Liakhovich can build on what he showed Saturday night, he’d be a hell of a proposition for anyone at the top of the division. For now, WBO Sergei Liakhovich joins the ‘elite’ crew of IBF Chris Byrd, WBA Nicolay Valuev, and WBC Champion by default, Hasim Rahman. I can just hear casual sports fans asking, “Who are those guys and what happened to Mike Tyson?” All I can answer is, “Welcome to the future.”
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