by James Slater – Since returning to the ring in late August of 2008, after having undergone serious and painful retinal surgery, 36-year-old former WBO heavyweight champion Lamon Brewster has won two fights in a row. “Relentless” is next out on August 29th, when he will fight on the under-card of the Victor Emilio Ramirez-Marco Huck WBO cruiserweight title bout.
Once again fighting in Germany (scene of three of Brewster’s last five bouts), the 35-4(30) warrior will face possible danger man Gbenga Oloukun of Nigeria.. Now a member of the Sauerland promotional outfit, Brewster is intent on becoming a ruler of his weight class all over again. The last man to have beaten reigning Ring magazine, IBF and WBO heavyweight king Wladimir Klitschko, Brewster is convinced he will be soon able to do it again.
The 36-year-old with the enormous heart has gone on record as saying he will not be rushed in his comeback, and that he wants another two or three fights before he will be ready to go for a world title. Brewster wants to do it right this time around, as opposed to going into a big fight too quickly; as he did when he boxed his rematch with “Dr. Steel Hammer.”
Back in his July, 2007 return with Wladimir, Brewster had barely been out of the hospital for sufficient time for his surgical wounds to have healed. Rushing into a second fight with the formidable Klitschko, Brewster was no match for the giant this time around – remaining on his stool after six disappointing rounds. However, when fully ready and focused, “Relentless” believes he can once again do to Klitschko what he did to him in April of 2004, when he won the vacant WBO title with a 5th round TKO victory.
First, though, Brewster must take care of 26-year-old Oloukun, a puncher with a 16-1(10) pro record. Nicknamed “Bang Bang,” the Nigerian who now lives in Hamburg, Germany may have lost his last fight (by 7th round stoppage to the unbeaten Manuel Charr), but before that setback Oloukun had romped to a straight 15 wins, with a good number of them coming inside the distance. If he should make the mistake of underestimating or overlooking Oloukun, Brewster could be in some trouble.
It’s unlikely Brewster will not have done his homework, though, and as determined as he is to once again scale the top of the heavyweight mountain a loss to the Nigerian would also be a shock. But the again, how much research on his opponent will Brewster have been able to do? Not too much is known about Oloukun, and there are no recognisable names on his pro record. At 6’1″ (according to BoxRec), the 26-year-old is not a huge heavyweight, but at 6’2″ neither is Brewster. We know that Oloukun can hit some, but he has never been in with as seasoned a pro as the man who hails from Indianapolis.
It’s tough making an accurate prediction with this one, but Brewster, having lost most if not all of his ring-rust now that’s he’s two wins into his return, will probably win on points. Scheduled for eight rounds, look for “Relentless” to get a good workout as he wins his third bout on the bounce.