Brewster vs. Liakhovich: Taming the Wolf
By Julian Kasdin (March 30, 2006)  
Photo © Tom Casino/SHOWTIME
This Saturday on Showtime, at the awkwardly late time of eleven o’clock, ‘Relentless’ Lamon Brewster, 33-2 (29), will defend his WBO title against Sergei ‘The White Wolf’ Liakhovich, 22-1 (14). Brewster is coming off a great year-and-a-half that saw him defeat Wladimir Klitschko, Kali Meehan, Andrew Golota and Luan Krasniqi. Liakhovich is coming off a one year hiatus following the biggest win of his career, a unanimous decision win over once promising Dominick Guinn.

A lot of changes have happened in the Brewster camp since he beat Luan Krasniqi, including firing his manager, firing his trainer, and moving out of California, all of which makes the fight even more interesting because no one knows what effect all of this will have on Brewster.

Lamon Brewster should be one of the most popular heavyweights today, he has been more active than the other title holders, and has defeated a string of solid opponents, all but one by stoppage. He can take a good shot and give a shot, and has just enough technical holes to make his fights exciting. By bringing in Buddy McGirt he is seeking to clean up some of his shortcomings, but the question that lingers is will sacking Jesse Reid make him lose his fire. In order to win this fight Brewster must be active; he will not out-jab or outbox Liakhovich, but he can out-slug and out-hustle the younger fighter. Brewster should be on him from the opening bell, punishing the body and looking to test Liakhovich's chin. Brewster is best when he throws over eighty punches a round, so his goal for this fight should be effective aggression and a lot of pressure.

Liakhovich is a solid enough fighter and a pretty rugged guy. While not a murderous puncher he has enough pop to keep just about any fighter honest. Liakhovich needs to establish distance and use his greater physical size to tie up and wear out Brewster. Liakhovich likes to fight at a measured pace, and if he can get Brewster to throw fewer punches than the fight might tip in his favor. Liakhovich has not been in the ring in over a year, and this raises some concerns about how rusty he is. That being said, he is young and looks to be in superb shape.

This fight can either end up being a dominating performance by Lamon Brewster, or a smart technical win for Lyakhovich. I have to say that despite all of the changes Brewster has made in the last few months I think he has just a little too much for Liakhovich. Look for Liakhovich to try and establish distance and the pace of the fight early on. He should outbox Brewster for a few rounds before the champion gradually slows him down and catches him. Give me ‘Relentless’ Lamon Brewster by late stoppage in this one.
© Copyright / All Rights reserved: Doghouse Boxing 1998-2006