KLITSCHKO VS. BREWSTER FIGHT: A QUESTIONABLE CHOICE FOR THE CHAMP

Wladimir Klitschko, the recognized top heavyweight in boxing has surprised me by his recent decision to attempt to avenge his loss to Lamon Brewster. Klitschko has signed up to defend his IBF championship against him on July seventh in Germany.

The then WBO Heavyweight Champion was knocked out by Brewster in April 2004 in a five round thriller. Klitschko has since won his last six fights with four coming by knockout, including his IBF title victory over Chris Byrd April 22, 2006.

After defeating Klitschko, Brewster needed a split decision win over the unheralded Kali Meehan. To his credit, he was able to score three knockdowns in a 52-second assault of formidable challenger Andrew Golota. After defeating Golota, Brewster once again showed his inconsistency. He required a come-from-behind knockout to beat mid-level heavyweight Luan Krasniqi.

On April 1, 2006, Brewster faced another unheralded opponent in Serguei Lyakhovich. Lyakhovich came off a 1 ½ year layoff as well as the canvas in the seventh round to beat Brewster to the punch for most of the night to earn a unanimous decision in one of the best heavyweight fights in recent history. Lyakhovich, the WBO Champion, made Brewster a victim of so many punches his retina was severely damaged, and he has not fought since.

This is why it is surprising the “number one heavyweight” is choosing to fight a man who is not only coming off a 15 month layoff but a damaging loss in his last fight. This fight can be compared to Nikolay Valuev’s October seventh fight against Monte Barrett, who received a title shot coming off a 14-month layoff and a loss in his last fight to Hasim Rahman. The only difference was Valuev was not knocked out by Barrett in the past and was not seeking “revenge.”

While revenge is nice, unification is better, especially for the present state of the heavyweight division. Klitschko said he wanted to fight former WBA Champion Nikolay Valuev, but he was defeated by undefeated southpaw Ruslan Chagaev. Chagaev has had 11 of his last 12 fights in Germany, including his victories over John Ruiz and Nikolay Valuev. A Klitschko/Chagaev fight would not only be a unification fight but a huge success in Germany—the same country where a majority of Klitschko’s fights have been. HBO would most definitely pick the fight up as they have aired his last four fights, including his two round domination of “mandatory challenger,” better known as sloppy journeyman heavyweight Ray Austin.

If he could not get a fight with Chagaev, WBO Champion Shannon Briggs {who knocked out Lyakhovich in November} is a strong option if he successfully defends his title June second against Sultan Ibragimov, as is expected. Briggs (a Brooklyn, New York native) was slated to face Wladimir Klitschko in November at Madison Square Garden, but Briggs was suddenly removed from the opponent slot and Calvin Brock took his place. Klitschko was confronted by Briggs at the post fight press conference but had little to offer as to why they didn’t go forward with the fight.

A Klitschko vs. Briggs match as well as a Klitschko vs. Chagaev bout are much bigger and better options than a lackluster Lamon Brewster. Although you can’t blame him for his last fight against Ray Austin since he was a mandatory challenger, Klitschko must fight only the biggest names and attempt to unify his title if he wants to remain the number one heavyweight. If he continues to talk about unification and elect to fight guys coming off 15-month layoffs, his time as the recognized top heavyweight may be very short lived.