The last dog days of summer are usually hot, humid, and just plain hellacious to deal with. The kids are ending their summer break and embarking on another year in school, it is the end of the heat and a start to the fall.
All though it is the end of vacationing and time off from the job, it is a beginning for one particular individual, that being the former heavyweight champion Lamon Brewster 33-4 (29) who plans on ending the summer with a bang, and beginning a successful comeback that will lead to another heavyweight world title.
A former decorated amateur standout, Brewster made his jump into the professionals the fall of 1996 winning his first eleven bouts via knock out before earning himself his first victory by decision.
The hard hitting heavyweight fired out twenty-three consecutive victories, seventeen via knock out before tasting defeat the spring of 2000, by the hands of the then undefeated Clifford Etienne, a fight where Lamon tore ligaments in his knee in the opening round. After the Etienne bout, Brewster stopped journeyman Val Smith in the opening round, but once again was met with a decision loss, this one coming from Charles Shufford.
With two losses out of three bouts some would say that Lamon’s career looked bleak, but Brewster proved to be a warrior learning from his experiences then moving forward.Brewster banged out five more consecutives victories, all wins coming by the way of knock out, as well as earning himself the WBO NABO heavyweight title.
All though success was upon him, the lime light wasn’t, not until a fateful night in April when the underdog erupted on the scene with a fifth round TKO victory over the towering Ukrainian Wladimir Klitschko.
Brewster not only did was most in the business thought he could not do, beat Klitschko, but he climbed up off the canvas to stop the big man in five rounds to earn himself the WBO heavyweight strap.
With a decision win over Meehan, a fifty-two second first round romping over Andrew Golota, and a ninth round knock out victory over Luan Krasniqi, Lamon successfully defended his title three times before falling to defeat to Sergei Liakhovich, in what was a “fight of the year candidate”.
Brewster, who detached his retina in his left eye fought blind out of the eye for the remainder of the bout, and all though it was a loss for Brewster, he fought courageously, once again proving to be a ring warrior.
The summer of 2007, Brewster traveled to Germany to once again take on Wladimir Klitschko, but this time there was no relentless attack as before from Brewster.
Suffering from a shoulder injury Lamon could not throw his signature shot, (the left hook). And after eating numerous jabs and thunderous right hands form Klitschko, Lamon’s trainer pulled the plug on the fight given Lamon his first loss in seven years.
After the loss Lamon blamed the lackluster performance on ring rust, and firmly stated, “I want a tie breaker with Klitschko!”
Now, after a year layoff, a now injury free Brewster is ready to return to begin his journey back to the top of the crop, and his quest to once again be the best begins August 30th at the Cincinnati Gardens in Cincinnati, OH, when Brewster takes on the former cruiserweight contender Danny Batchelder 25-5-1 (12) for the vacant NABA heavyweight title.
Brewster told Convicted Artist‘s Benny Henderson Jr., “I am fully healed up and ready to return!”
When injury free, Brewster has proven to be a heavy handed crowd pleasing heavyweight, and his return to the fight game should once again provide some much needed sparks in the heavyweight division, and no doubt August 30th will be the hottest night of the summer in Ohio.
Benny Henderson Jr.
www.convictedartist.com