On July 7, 2007, a very unlucky Lamon Brewster (33-4, 29 KOs) endured six rounds of a varied, lethal assault dished out by Wladimir Klitschko (49-3, 44 KOs). The “sevens” were apparently wild, as Brewster’s trainer Buddy McGirt mercifully called the bout before the seventh round began. Strangely enough, Klitschko’s trainer, Emmanuel Steward predicted that the fight would end around the seventh round.
In some ways, Klitschko was robbed of “joyous revenge,” when an exhausted Brewster did not protest McGirt’s stoppage of the fight and retired helplessly on his stool after six bruising rounds. Fans were robbed of a likely one-two punch, or perhaps even a double or triple left hook (otherwise known as a “triple Ray Austin” – which also happens to be a drink-and-dance move in certain corners of the United States) that was sure to dislodge Brewster from his senses.
In the aftermath, boxing’s resident conspiracy theorist, older brother Vitali, exclaimed that this win was “proof” that Wladimir’s first loss to Brewster was due to “outside forces.” I, for one, do not believe in such nonsense that the eldest Klitschko purported.
For many fans and pundits, the outcome of this fight was a forgone conclusion. It’s a script we’ve seen many times before a Klitschko title fight.
It goes something like this: Wlad’s opponent enters the ring; HBO announcers struggle to say something nice about said opponent; Wlad stoically enters the ring to cheesy American pop music from the 1980s; the fight begins; the largely European crowd goes bonkers; Wlad fights passive for two rounds, then finds his range around rounds three or four; his opponent’s jaw has a bull’s-eye on it; the fight ends with Wlad’s opponent laying on his back; the crowd goes insane, and last but not least, big brother Vitali signals the big “yes (clinched fist and arm wiggling in that classic NCAA Final Four victory motion)!”
Program over – Entourage follows, except on the West Coast. Next week, I will expand on how the “Brothers Klitschko" respond to defeat.
