Klitschko-Brewster rematch is in the works
Even before heavyweight titlist Wladimir Klitschko had finished disposing of mandatory challenger Ray Austin in two ridiculously one-sided rounds March 10, questions were being asked about who would be next for the world's No. 1 big man.
In Germany, where Klitschko embarrassed Austin, there was quite a bit of talk that perhaps he would face 7-foot, 325-pound Russian titlist Nikolai Valuev in a summer unification match.
All the talk even prompted Valuev to issue a press release saying he was very interested in the fight.
"It depends on my management, but I am ready to get in the same ring with Wladimir at any time," Valuev said.
However, that fight, at least this summer, is not realistic.
Valuev (46-0, 34 KOs) is scheduled to make a mandatory defense April 14 against Ruslan Chagaev in Germany. A victory -- no guarantee against the powerful southpaw -- would push Valuev to 47-0, leaving him three wins shy of breaking the hallowed 49-0 mark of legendary champion Rocky Marciano.
Valuev's handlers can talk all they want about making serious fights, but behind the scenes it is an open secret that they have no intention of putting their meal ticket in serious harm's way until he reaches 50-0.
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Other unification bouts are also out of the question for Klitschko this summer. Oleg Maskaev will defend his belt against either Wladimir's big brother, Vitali Klitschko, or Samuel Peter, a mess that is still being sorted out.
Titlist Shannon Briggs had a March 10 mandatory defense against Sultan Ibragimov postponed after coming down with pneumonia, but it has been rescheduled for June 2 in Moscow.
Wladimir Klitschko's November fight in the United States could certainly come against the winner of either of those bouts, but that leaves him with a summer date on HBO to fill, and the last thing anyone wants is to see Klitschko in another Austin-like walkover, especially HBO.
Network executives are smarting because the fight registered a woeful 3.2 rating for the prime-time, tape-delayed coverage, one of the worst ratings for a "World Championship Boxing" broadcast in HBO history.
So who does that leave for Klitschko? Former titlist Lamon Brewster, the only opponent who means anything to Klitschko outside of one of the other belt holders.
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| Brewster |
Shelly Finkel, Klitschko's adviser, told ESPN.com that he is in discussions with Brewster adviser Al Haymon about putting the fight together, probably in July or early August, although Klitschko would prefer to go in June.
The fight would probably take place in Germany, and Finkel said both sides are very interested in getting it done. HBO also likes the fight.
"Wladimir wants to avenge the loss that he had, which still bothers him," Finkel said. "And there are very few worthy opponents out there. Brewster, obviously, is a worthy opponent."
Said Bernd Boente, Klitschko's manager, "We would love a unification fight, but you know how difficult boxing politics are. The rematch with Lamon Brewster is a fight the public wants to see. I think it's the next best fight after Klitschko-Valuev in the heavyweight division."
Klitschko-Brewster II is a compelling fight because of their history. Brewster (33-3, 29 KOs) was a big underdog when he stopped Klitschko in the fifth round April 10, 2004, in Las Vegas to win a vacant belt.
Klitschko (48-3, 43 KOs) had dished out a serious beating for four rounds until running out of gas against Brewster, who showed enormous heart to rally in the fifth and stop Klitschko.
Brewster would go on to make three defenses until losing a decision to Sergei Liakhovich April 1, 2006, in the best heavyweight fight of the year.
Although he hasn't fought since because of an eye injury suffered against Liakhovich, Brewster has put it behind him and is back in camp training with Buddy McGirt while awaiting a fight.
Klitschko wants to face his rival again.
"I would love to get the rematch with Brewster," Klitschko said. "This defeat is still a thorn in my side. I think this would be a huge event and definitely one of those few fights the boxing fans around the world would love to see. I know that Lamon is a very dangerous opponent, and he has lost his title only because of the eye injury he suffered in his last fight."
A rematch with Klitschko is easily Brewster's biggest money fight. It's also a relatively easy deal to make because Brewster is a promotional free agent following a split with Don King, whose endless battles with Finkel make deal-making between them extremely difficult. The only reason the match with Austin -- a King fighter -- came off with so few issues is because it was mandatory.
Klitschko trainer Emanuel Steward also hopes the rematch with Brewster is made.
"That's the fight I want more than any other for Wladimir," Steward said. "I told Wladimir, 'Brewster's only important if he fights you. He has spent the past few years living off that fight with you. We need this fight, Wladimir.' Brewster could fight a million people and it's nothing. Brewster fighting Wladimir again is major. If Wladimir can't fight a unification fight, which is what he really wants, then Brewster would be perfect because everywhere I go people still always say that Wladimir has no chin, no heart, no stamina -- all because of that fight.
"That's the Wladimir fight people remember. They don't remember him beating Samuel Peter or knocking out Chris Byrd and Calvin Brock. No, they remember him getting stopped by Brewster."
The first Brewster fight was Steward's first in the corner with Klitschko, so he would like to erase it from his mind as well.
"I have been pushing for that fight," Steward said. "A rematch is good for boxing and good for Wladimir and Lamon. It's a big fight because of the history of the first fight. If you're Brewster, what other fight makes sense for you, anyway? He's known as the guy who knocked out Wladimir Klitschko."
He's about to get a chance to try to do it again.
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• When Versus' "Fight Night" returns on June 14, the main event will match former heavyweight champ Hasim Rahman with Ray Mercer. They were supposed to fight Feb. 22 on Versus, but the fight was called off when Rahman withdrew to deal with a family situation. Now, it has been rescheduled. "We've agreed to the fight and my understanding is that Mercer has also agreed," Rahman co-manager Steve Nelson told ESPN.com. No venue is set, but Nelson said the bout probably would land in Rochester, N.Y., Nelson's hometown. Rahman had considered possible matches with Lamon Brewster, and there was discussion about a couple of fights in Germany. "We had other possibilities, but they didn't pan out, so the plan is to go back to the original plan of fighting Mercer," Nelson said.
• New York's MSG network has come to the rescue of boxing fans, picking up live American TV coverage of cruiserweight champion O'Neil Bell's rematch with Jean-Marc Mormeck on Saturday in Levallois-Perret, France. MSG, available nationally on satellite services, will televise the fight at 4 p.m. ET (with replays at 12:30 a.m. ET Sunday and 8 p.m. ET Monday). MSG also will provide the fight to Fox Sports Net for distribution to its regional services. Bell (26-1-1, 24 KOs) knocked out Mormeck (32-3, 22 KOs) in the 10th round of an explosive fight in January at Madison Square Garden Theater. Bell and Evander Holyfield are the only fighters to become undisputed champion in division history.
• Showtime has elected to go with only one televised fight April 7 on the show headlined by former lightweight champion Diego Corrales' welterweight debut against Joshua Clottey. There had been talk of possible matches between featherweights Steven Luevano and Nicky Cook and junior middleweights Yuri Foreman and Andrey Tsurkan or a bout involving junior bantamweight prospect Nonito Donaire. Also, promoter Dan Goossen told ESPN.com that he offered Showtime a heavyweight match between James Toney and Tony Thompson for that card but was rebuffed before money could even be discussed.
• For fans without access to regional cable station CN8 or a Comcast cable system, you can still watch Saturday night's heavyweight fight between former four-time champion Evander Holyfield and Vinny Maddalone. It will be available via free Webcast beginning at 10 p.m. ET at www.CN8.tv.
• As expected, handlers for middleweight contenders Kelly Pavlik and Edison Miranda finalized their deal to meet this summer in a title elimination bout. A purse bid scheduled for Monday was called off. Pavlik promoter Top Rank and Miranda promoters Seminole Warriors Boxing and Main Events reached an agreement two weeks ago in Puerto Rico but finalized it this week and asked for the WBC to cancel the purse bid. The winner of the fight, scheduled for July 28 (on HBO), will become the mandatory challenger for champion Jermain Taylor.
• Junior lightweight contender Humberto Soto will face Bobby Pacquiao -- brother of Manny Pacquiao -- on the Miguel Cotto-Zab Judah HBO PPV undercard June 9 at New York's Madison Square Garden. According to Top Rank, both sides have agreed to the fight. Another bout that probably will be added to the telecast: Steven Luevano vs. Nicky Cook in a featherweight title bout. Welterweight Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. also will be on the card, possibly against former "Contender" participant Mike "No Joke" Stewart.
• Trainer Emanuel Steward will have to miss middleweight blue-chip prospect Andy Lee's Friday night fight against former junior middleweight titlist Carl Daniels. Lee, a 2004 Irish Olympian, faces Daniels in New York on the pay-per-view undercard headlined by middleweight John Duddy against Anthony Bonsante of "The Contender" fame. However, Steward will be in Las Vegas handling obligations in his role as an analyst for HBO, which will televise the Marco Antonio Barrera-Juan Manuel Marquez fight Saturday night on HBO PPV. Taking Steward's place in the corner will be his nephew and assistant Javan Hill. "Andy is a real mature kid," Steward said. "He will be just fine." • The numbers are in from the recently completed 11-city, cross-country media tour mounted by Oscar De La Hoya and Floyd Mayweather Jr. to promote their much-anticipated May 5 (HBO PPV) showdown. According to Golden Boy Promotions, the nine-day tour included more than 150 television cameras, 200 still photographers, and more than 200 print and Web-based writers and radio reporters. The tour stops attracted more than 20,000 fans, including especially large turnouts in Washington, Chicago, Dallas and Los Angeles. • The matchups have been determined for the March 30 "The Contender Challenge: UK vs. USA," an eight-fight card that will take place in Newcastle, England, and feature a team of boxers from the first two seasons of "The Contender" reality series (captained by Sugar Ray Leonard) against a team of Frank Warren-promoted fighters from the United Kingdom (captained by Barry McGuigan). The eight-round bouts will be recorded and serve as the basis for a six-episode series debuting April 10 on ESPN. The matchups ("Contender" fighters are listed first): Alfonso Gomez vs. Martin Concepcion, junior middleweights; Freddy Curiel vs. Ross Minter, welterweights; Walter Wright vs. Anthony Small, junior middleweights; Jesse Brinkley vs. former world titleholder Robin Reid, light heavyweights; Cornelius "K9" Bundrage vs. Colin McNeil, junior middleweights; Jerson Ravelo vs. Paul Buchanan, super middleweights; Michael Clark vs. Nigel Wright, welterweights; and Jonathan Reid vs. Paul Smith, middleweights. • One of Japan's biggest championship cards in years was announced this week by promoter Akihiko Honda, Asia's leading promoter. The championship triple-header will take place May 3 in Tokyo and feature bantamweight titlist Hozumi Hasegawa (21-2, 7 KOs) making his fourth defense against South African Simpiwe Vetyeka (16-0, 9 KOs), Japan-based Venezuelan knockout artist Edwin Valero (21-0, 21 KOs) defending his junior lightweight belt against Nobuhito Honmo (29-4-2, 5 KOs) and junior bantamweight titlist Nobuo Nashiro (9-0, 5 KOs) facing dangerous mandatory challenger (and former belt holder) Alexander Munoz (29-2, 27 KOs) in his second defense since his upset 10th-round TKO of Martin Castillo last summer. • Still reeling from Dan Rafael's Quick Hits? Check out his hard-hitting blog |
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"I knocked out Mormeck in the 10th round in our first fight last year, but I still feel I have something to prove. He caught me a few times in the early rounds before I came back to win it. I want to show I can dominate him from the beginning."
-- cruiserweight world champion O'Neil Bell, who faces former titlist Jean-Marc Mormeck in Levallois-Perret, France, in a March 17 rematch
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