Thread: Lamon Brewster vs Sergei Lyakhovich on April 1st, 2006. Who wins & how?

Lyakhovich ready for title shot!

March 28, 2006

By David L. Hudson, Jr.

http://www.fightnews.com/hudson188.htm

Don King Productions

Heavyweight contender Sergei Lyakhovich recognizes he has the opportunity of a lifetime on April 1st when he faces WBO heavyweight champion Lamon Brewster. "It would be amazing to win a world title," he says. "It would mean a lot for my country [Belarus]. I fight for myself, my team, my family and everybody who supports me."

Lyakhovich largely has been overlooked for the past several years despite amassing a respectable 22-1 record. Perhaps it's because he has been beset with injuries and did have fight even one time in 2005. Perhaps it's because he was stopped in June 2002 by Maurice Harris, a fighter with 13 (then 12) losses.

Whatever the reasons, it doesn't matter now, as the man they call "the White Wolf" can erase all doubts with a victory over the powerful and dangerous Brewster. Lyakhovich and his expert trainer Kenny Weldon insist that the man from Belarus will be at his best for the April 1st showdown in Cleveland that will be broadcast on SHOWTIME. His manager Ivaylo Gotsev is even more confident, stating: "Come April 1, there will be a new heavyweight champion of the world. Fighting against the best heavyweight champion, there will be no questions unanswered."

"This is exciting for me," Lyakhovich says. "Everything is great right here. I've had the best camp in my life and I am ready 110%."

Weldon says that his fighter has already been training for seven weeks and is "looking outstanding."

Both fighter and trainer realize that the champion presents a most formidable task, as he has both great power and heart. The champion has trailed on the scorecards in several fights only to rescue himself with his devastating power.

"Brewster is a real, real good champion," Lyakhovich says. "It shows in his fights that he fights with great power and heart." Weldon agrees, noting: "We know that Brewster is very capable at any time of taking you out. But Sergei can also take out anybody with a single punch."

Critics question whether Lyakhovich can deal with Brewster's power, particularly since he has not fought in more than a year, since he outpointed Dominick Guinn over ten rounds in December 2004. Lyakhovich was scheduled to face fellow contender Owen Beck in September 2005 but suffered a chest injury in training. He insists that the layoff will not negatively impact his performance. "No, the layoff won't affect me. I've stayed active in the gym. We are prepared for the best Lamon Brewster."

While some may question the skill, there appears to be zero doubt about his will. "I think Sergei probably is the only boxer I've worked with that has as much dedication to training and hard work as Evander Holyfield does," Weldon says. "Sergei is of the same type and determined mindset as Evander. He sets goals for himself and knows what he's chasing. He won't go in the ring unprepared."

"I am ready for a great fight," Lyakhovich says.

"He is going to seize the moment, he's a sleeper, a darkhorse," boasts Gotsev.
Tune in to SHOWTIME on April 1st to see if Lyakhovich is prepared for the powerful champion and can "seize the moment." If so, it could be one helluva fight.

For some reason...no one is talking about this fight...does no one care?

I for one am actually pretty interested in seeing how Brewster does against Lyakhovich.

Why isn't Lamon Brewster a star?

http://www.secondsout.com/USA/news.cfm?ccs=229&cs=19045

By Ben Cohen: For a division that supposedly lacks stars and exciting fighters, you would have thought that Lamon Brewster did not actually exist. If taking a horrendous beating from Wladimir Klitschko for 4 and ½ rounds, then dramatically coming back and knocking him out did not put him on the map, then demolishing Andrew Golota in a single round should have done. But alas, bored boxing writers continue to lament about the state of the heavyweight division, and pine for stars from former eras.

Brewster defended the WBO belt he won from Klitschko three times, the last against Luan Krasniqi in a hard fought battle culminating in a 9th round TKO. He is now slated to fight the Belarussian prospect, and conqueror of Dominick Guinn, Serguei Lyakhovich.

Brewster may not be the most skilled fighter in the world, but he has heart, hits hard, and looks to be improving. He also is now trained by Buddy McGirt, who will no doubt add more depth to the Californian fighter's game.

Lyakhovich is also one to watch, another hard working, hard hitting heavyweight with a few skills to show as well.

In a press conference last week, both fighters and their respective trainers spoke out about a fight that many in boxing should pay considerable attention to.

"This is exciting for me and everything is great right here. This is the best camp in my life. So I am 110 percent ready right now. Everything is fine," said Lyakhovic.

When asked whether a recent lay off would affect his performance, he replied:

"No, because I stay active in the gym and train and spar. I do not think this will affect me."

Did he feel like he was catching Brewster at the right time?

"It does not matter. We are prepared for a 100 percent Lamon Brewster and we think he will give 100 percent," he stated.

Serguie's trainer, Kenny Weldon also weighed in on the fight:

"We have been training about seven weeks now" he stated. "When we started, he was in pretty good shape already. He had been running and such. We spent about two weeks in Arizona before we came to Las Vega. We have worked really hard. He has had great sparring. He is looking outstanding. I really like the way he is looking"

Weldon also talked about his fighters work ethic, one that he compares to Evander Holyfield:

"I think Sergei probably is the only boxer, I have worked with that has as much dedication towards training and hard work as Evander Holyfield. I was with Evander a long time, and I believe that Sergei is of the same type. He sets goals for himself. He knows what he is chasing. He will not go in the ring unprepared."

And what is their strategy for the fight?

"Lamon has an oddity in his style" said Weldon. "He throws a pull hook. He is a sort of play around body puncher that looks for the big shot continuously. There are a lot of different things that you can work on to get ready for him. But you always have to be aware that he's very capable at any time of taking you out. Sergei is the same way. He is very capable of taking anybody out at any given time. Between the two of these guys, this is going to be a great fight because their styles sort of clash".

Enter Lamon Brewster:

"This is the best training camp that I can honestly say I have ever had", the humble fighter stated. "Working with Buddy McGirt has been a fulfilled dream of mine and I think he is the best trainer alive. Going into this fight, I have the utmost confidence because for the first time in a very long time, I have confidence in my corner as well going into a fight."

And how does McGirt like working with Lamon?

"The only thing I have to say is that Lamon has been great to work with," the world re known trainer stated. "The funny thing is that Lamon really does not know how good he really is. Once he finds out how good he really is, then the heavyweight division is really in trouble. They have not seen the best Lamon Brewster yet. There is room for him to get better. He just has so much natural ability and so many tools that he has not used, or that he has not used in a long time. It is key for me to keep just reminding him of certain things that he can do, and once he does them, it just makes my job much easier."

Given Lamon's success against big European fighters (threoo fo his last four fights were against Europeans), what does he attribute it to?

"I do not look at them as European or anything other than a man in a ring trying to take what's mine" said Brewster. "I just do what I have to do to win. I have a saying, "Get in where you fit in, and if you can't stand, sit in." So my solution is that if I cannot work and make it, then I will fight and take it. Sometimes it is hard, but I have no limit to how far I will go outside of not cheating. I am not a dirty fighter. But if I cannot beat a guy on skill, well, then we have to take it to the street."

McGirt weighted in saying:
"He mainly just did what he had to do to win. I watched the Klitschko fight and Lamon did what he had to do. He pulled out all the stops and got him out of there. The key is to not sit there and wait for one punch, because if they do that, they know they are going to be in for a surprise. Lamon has more to offer than that. I know that Mr. Weldon, being the great trainer that he is, has had Sergei prepared for anything and everything. That is what they are going to see next week. Lamon is going to go out there and use those skills that he has always had that he has not used in a long time.

Given that Liakhovich has never fought for a world title before, does Lamon think that this makes him more dangerous?

"Well, honestly speaking, I do not know because until we get in the ring, I can speculate all I want. But I do not really know. I know a lot of guys, they get up to fight for world titles. But he has had a long layoff and he has never felt the power that he will feel against me. That makes a big difference. Sometimes you can get hit so hard that you start wanting to think about living as opposed to trying to prove that you are tough to win a title. It is not worth dying for"

"I just want everybody to know that the decision I made to come work with Buddy was one of the best decisions I have ever made in terms of my whole professional career. I am happier now in my professional career with not only my skills but with my esteem than I have ever been in my whole career."



Also...if he wins...will Brewster start getting respect?

Curious about that answer.

Brewster by KO!

Brewster by Ko. He better get some respect if he wins. If he loses, another journeyman, that went on a hot streak, that didn't last.

Graham Houston -

Lamon Brewster comes into his heavyweight title defence against Serguei Liakhovich after making significant changes. He has dropped longtime manager/confidant Sam Simon and trainer Jesse Reid, who engineered Brewster’s big wins over Andrew Golota and Luan Krasniqi, and will have a new trainer, Buddy McGirt, in his corner in the Showtime free-preview-weekend attraction on Saturday night.

The decision to replace Reid with McGirt, Brewster says, was because he felt the need to have a trainer who was “a great technician”, and he told a telephone conference call the other day: “It is almost like I can say I have been reborn again because I have been reminded of how good I really am as opposed to just depending on my punching power. Now, there is so much more added to me that it scares myself.”

McGirt said on the same conference call: “The only thing I have to say is that Lamon has been great to work with. The funny thing is that Lamon really does not know how good he really is. Once he finds out how good he really is, then the heavyweight division is really in trouble. They have not seen the best Lamon Brewster yet. There is room for him to get better. He just has so much natural ability and so many tools that he has not used, or that he has not used in a long time. It is key for me to keep just reminding him of certain things that he can do, and once he does them, it just makes my job much easier.”

Now this is super-positive stuff. There is another school of thought, though, which is that Jesse Reid was in fact an excellent choice as trainer for Brewster because he increased the fighter’s punch-output and got him to be the sort of aggressive puncher that some might feel is the most effective style for a heavyweight who on occasion has been disappointingly negative (losses to Clifford Etienne and Charles Shufford and a narrow escape against Kali Meehan).

Reid took his dismissal hard especially after steering Brewster to the 53-second annihilation of Golota (who was a clear betting favourite) and the ninth-round knockout over Krasniqi in Germany. Speaking on the phone from his home outside Las Vegas, Reid said: “I really can say that those two fights were done with a lot of my ideas and thoughts and I’m very disappointed that my reward is to be let go. It’s a sad thing, but people who do things like that will be paid back — it definitely will happen in boxing. I think we’re going to see a difference in Lamon in these next couple of fights — if he makes the next couple of fights.”

Brewster is 32 years old and knows his own mind. Perhaps we will see a sensational performance from him on Saturday. The fact that Brewster has made such drastic changes fairly close to a big fight give me a slightly uneasy feeling, though.

Liakhovich, the “White Wolf” from Belarus, has been training for more than six weeks in Las Vegas with Kenny Weldon, his trainer for the past four years. When Weldon compares Liakhovich’s work ethic to that of Evander Holyfield — with whom Weldon was closely associated for a number of years — then you can be sure that the challenger will be in tremendous condition.

Neither Liakhovich nor Weldon are the type to go in for predictions, but the challenger’s manager, Ivaylo Gotzev, said from their hotel in Cleveland this week that he loves his man’s chances. “To me, it’s seek and destroy,” Gotzev said of Liakhovich. “He’s ready, he’s never had a better camp — great sparring, many rounds of good boxing — he’s never been more motivated or more sure of himself. The stars are aligning and everything is great for us. I’ve been with this kid since 1998 and I just love it, I’ve never felt better, he’s never been in better shape mental or physical.”

Liakhovich has been sparring with Friday Ahunanya and Robert Hawkins, heavyweights built on similar lines to Brewster, and Gotzev said: “I personally think that Friday — in the gym anyway — is faster and more aggressive than Brewster is in a fight, and Robert Hawkins was a durable guy; an absolute perfect camp.”

Obviously, upbeat statements from a fighter’s camp are part and parcel of the business. Both the Brewster and Liakhovich camps are saying that their respective fighters have never been better. In Ivaylo Gotzev’s own words: “We’ll find out who’s right on Saturday night.”

On paper, of course, Brewster should win. When he is letting the combinations fly he is a formidable fighter. I am not just thinking of the way he demolished Golota and broke down Krasniqi but earlier fights such as when he knocked out the Olympic bronze medallist Nate Jones and the towering “Irish” Tommy Martin.

Brewster, with a record of 33-2 (29 KOs) is the more experienced of the two boxers and he has fought a higher standard of opposition, most notably when he outlasted Wladimir Klitschko.

Liakhovich, 29, with a record of 22-1 (14 KOs), produced his best performance when he outfought Dominick Guinn to pull out an impressive, unanimous 10-round decision in December 2004, but Guinn caved in mentally in that fight whereas Brewster is extremely game and strong-willed.

Apart from beating Guinn, Liakhovich has only one win over a heavyweight of note — a unanimous 12-round decision over the Nigerian Friday Ahunanya, who is now his sparring partner.

Also, while Brewster’s chin is considered reliable Liakhovich suffered a severe setback a couple of years ago when he was knocked out in the ninth round by Maurice Harris, a talented but somewhat erratic boxer. However, Ivaylo Gotzev blames his fighter’s showing on an adverse reaction to a vitamin B-12 injection that was administered in the dressing room. He said that Liakhovich was hyperventilating and couldn’t breathe properly in the fight: no more pre-fight vitamin shots for Serguei.

As an amateur Liakhovich boxed in the Olympics and was a world championships bronze medallist while Brewster was the U.S. champion.

I believe that Brewster has the advantage in firepower but Liakhovich can probably match him for hand speed. In terms of technical ability they might not be all that far apart although Brewster is perceived as the more proficient. For a big man (6ft 4ins, 240lbs) Liakhovich shows good movement: I do not consider him to be simply a mechanical, stand-up European heavyweight.

Liakhovich has not boxed for 16 months (a scheduled fight with Owen Beck last September had to be cancelled when the Belorussian suffered a torn cartilage in his chest) and this could be considered a negative, but he is hungry and determined.

Brewster has shown himself to be resolute. If he cannot hammer Liakhovich early, he might — if all else fails — be able simply to grind his way to victory in a war of attrition.

The memory of Brewster labouring against Meehan — and almost getting stopped in the eighth when he took a lot of punches while backed up on the ropes — is still fresh in my mind, though.

If Liakhovich can surprise Brewster a bit in the early stages, perhaps by hitting him with one or two good, clean shots or by running off some combinations before the champion settles into the fight, then the big man from Belarus can get some momentum going. If this happens, Liakhovich could be hard to beat.

I could be wrong but I have a nagging suspicion that Brewster might be underestimating Liakhovich, that he might be thinking he can just walk in and blow him out. Such an attitude, if this is indeed the case, could be costly.

Yes, in terms of experience against tougher opposition, punching power — and a proven ability to endure and win under difficult and even daunting circumstances — Brewster has to be favoured, but I do make Liakhovich “live” in the fight, in part because of the sweeping changes Brewster has made as regards to the people around him.

Everything might work out wonderfully for Brewster on the night, Buddy McGirt — who has certainly enjoyed great success — might indeed be the perfect trainer for him and it could be that the World Boxing Organisation champ will look the best he has ever looked. Yet I have to wonder if, just possibly, Brewster’s mind, with all that has been happening outside the ring, is as settled as it should be as he goes into a contest with an opponent who seems psychologically and physically ready to put up the fight of his life.

I do believe that Brewster will win because when it comes right down to it he seems to be simply the better, bigger hitting, more battle-hardened fighter, but I do feel that if Liakhovich is allowed to get a firm foothold in the fight an upset might become a distinct possibility.



Hopefully after this fight the Heavyweight picture will become a little clearer

How'd you vote Doo?

Originally Posted by wacko3205

How'd you vote Doo?

Sry mate busy morning at work I voted Brewsky by decision.

Won't be surprised if there aren't to many replys to this topic.. to much reading to do

Originally Posted by Hairdoo

Originally Posted by wacko3205

How'd you vote Doo?

Sry mate busy morning at work I voted Brewsky by decision.

Won't be surprised if there aren't to many replys to this topic.. to much reading to do

Not surprised.

The poll should get their attention though...& IWO...this is a worthy fight.

Can't wait.

Originally Posted by wacko3205

Originally Posted by Hairdoo

Originally Posted by wacko3205

How'd you vote Doo?

Sry mate busy morning at work I voted Brewsky by decision.

Won't be surprised if there aren't to many replys to this topic.. to much reading to do

Not surprised.

The poll should get their attention though...& IWO...this is a worthy fight.

Can't wait.

Meaningful heavyweight fights are few and far between.. this is one of the few so you would think there would be a little more interest. I hope for the sake of the division Brewster does well.

Is Lyakhovich that good, he didn't blow me away when I saw him.

Brewster should win but he can be lazy

Serguei isn't a superstar but neither was Krasniqi who almost beat Lamon Brewster...I think Lyahkovich is a good solid fighter with enough skill to outbox Brewster.

Lamon looks fat too

http://www.fightnews.com/scott208.htm
Q&A: Buddy McGirt!

March 28, 2006

By Lisa Scott













When WBO heavyweight champ Lamon Brewster takes on Serguei Lyakhovich (22-1; 14 KO's) this Saturday on Showtime, the interest will not only be on the fourth defense of his title. The real intrigue will be to see what his new trainer Buddy McGirt has done to enhance Brewster's power punching ability.

Best known for his outstanding work with Arturo Gatti and Antonio Tarver, McGirt began working with Brewster (33-2; 29 KO's) two months ago at his gym in Vero Beach, FL. And if McGirt can achieve the same results with Brewster that he did with Gatti, Tarver and others, the future of the heavyweight division could look very exciting.

McGirt spoke to Fightnews from his favorite restaurant, "Johnny V's," in Port St. Lucie, FL. This is what he had to say about his work with Brewster:

Lamon has been quoted as saying that since he began training with you, the changes he's seen in himself have ‘scared' him. What are these ‘changes'?
It's not like I changed this or that. I just looked at his strong points and his weak points. Lamon has so much ability. He's gotten away from some of the things that come so easily to him... that it's unbelievable to me. The key is just to bring it out of him. Right now, he's finding himself. He hasn't found himself yet, but when he does, THAT will be the scary part! Lamon hasn't realized what he is capable of yet.

What was the first thing you worked on with him?

The first thing was getting the weight off. Lamon was heavy. That's all I'm going to say... he was HEA-VEE. Then I just sat back and watched him for a few days. I looked for flaws and strengths. His head movement wasn't where I thought it should be. Yet he has a tremendous jab. His jab is like a right hand!

After only a couple of months of learning something new, it's hard for a fighter to break old habits - especially during the heat of battle. Come fight night, are you confident that Lamon can be consistent in utilizing the things he's learned?

Yes, I'm very confident. There were days in the gym when sparring partners would put pressure on him, and he would revert back to a habit. To break that, I had a stop watch to time the rounds and once he reverted back to a certain habit, I would stop the watch and begin the round again. I told him: ‘If we gotta be here all day, then we're gonna be here all day - until you get it right. We can do a 3 minute round, or we can do a 20 minute round, the choice is yours.' I wasn't going to end the sparring until he did what needed to be done.

I'll bet the guy sparring with Lamon wasn't too happy about those 20 minute rounds!

(Laughs) Well, I'd have to switch the guys out. They'd all get tired and tell Lamon: ‘Look man, just move your damn head so we can get this round over with!' But, Lamon got it done though. Although there were some days when he looked like he wanted to hit me in the mouth. (Laughs) But that's the way it's gotta be. The key is not to just put it in his mind, because once he feels pressure, he'll revert back. The key is to put it into his body, so he develops an instinct... a reflex to just do it. But what made it easy was that Lamon already had the ability to do it, but he didn't, because he would revert back to his power.

Who were Lamon's sparring partners?

We brought the troops in baby! Cisse Salif. Dave Bostice. Courage Shabalala. Monte Barrett. Andre Purlette and Malcolm Tann. But the best part is these guys brought their trainers with them and the sparring was excellent! One day, Lamon's sparring was so good, I forgot I had the stop watch in my hand! The round went a little over 4 minutes. Lamon was sparring with Cisse and Cisse looked over at me like, ‘What the hell are you doing?!' I was like, ‘Sorry man, ya'll were doing so good, that I just got so excited and forgot about the time!' I guess that's why I'm not a time keeper (Laughs).

I know that Cisse is about 6'4". But Andre Purlette? Isn't he only 5'11"? Serguei Lyakhovich is 6'4".

Yeah, but Andre is fast. What we wanted is sparring partners who were going to throw fast combinations. Fast enough to make Lamon work and move his head. I wasn't worried about getting guys who were tall or fought like Serguei. I got guys who would make Lamon do what I felt he needed to do, and that is move his head. The rest will fall into place. I don't care who you fight, you have to move your head! You gotta have a sharp defense. If I brought in guys who weren't going to make Lamon work, then he'll only move his head whenever he feels like it. But when you get guys who are throwing 3-4-5 punch combinations at you, you think, ‘I better move my damn head!'

Since 2001, Lamon has gone undefeated. In those 5 years, he is 9-0 with 8 knockouts. That record is better than any of the other top heavyweights out there right now. How far do you think Lamon can go? Can he dominate the heavyweight division in the years to come?

I think he can! He certainly has everything it takes to dominate the division. But it's all up to him and the man upstairs. Lamon has the most underrated defense, but he got away from it because he was knocking everyone out. Mix that with his great offense and punching power, and there's no telling how far Lamon can go.

Lamon has shown tremendous heart and perseverance in all of his fights. Does he approach his training with that same determination?

Yes. There are some days when he comes into the gym and he's got a look on his face - a look that says, ‘I don't want to be here!' But that's when he has his best days. He fights past it. I'm a firm believer that when a guy doesn't feel up to certain things in the gym, I know that he's going to give me his best on that day. Things will come naturally and the guy gets into a groove. Once he's in that groove, you can't stop him. I normally tell my guys, ‘I hope you don't feel like fightin' on fight night, because if you do... you're going to look spectacular!' (Laughs)

In some of his recent fights, Lamon has been a little reckless. Kind of like Ricardo Mayorga, just going in there and blasting away. Yet it seemed that recklessness made him effective. Your thoughts?

Exactly. But when he'd get to the middle of the fight, Lamon would find himself behind the eight ball, and he'd have to come back strong. We don't want to get behind the eight ball. We want to control everything right from the gate, and put the OTHER guy behind the eight ball. So when he gets desperate, he'll make mistakes and we'll capitalize on it.

What do you expect from Serguei Lyakhovich? Especially since he hasn't fought in 14 months.

All I'm going to say is that I expect anything and everything! Kenny Weldon is a very good trainer, so I know he's preparing Serguei for battle. But we're ready for battle too.

So, what is the game plan against Lyakhovich?

I don't want to reveal too much. But whatever he brings to the table, we'll have an answer for it. If he boxes... not a problem. If he tries to jump on Lamon - which I don't think he'll do - we're ready for that too. The real question here is: What is Serguei going to do when he tries to hit something and misses? What is Serguei going to do when he's looking for Lamon to throw one big punch, and it doesn't happen?

If all goes according to plan and Lamon beats Lyakhovich, who would you like to see him fight next?

After this, I think he deserves to fight the other champions. But right now, I just want to get this fight with Serguei over with, so I can sit back and have a cigar.

You once told me that you need to spend time with a fighter before you decide to become his trainer... to see if you click. What did you see in Lamon that made you think you could work together?

Lamon has a great personality and is a good guy. He's a decent person, yet at the same time, if he doesn't like something he'll let you know. He's a straight shooter and I like that. But, there was something that took me a while to notice. Lamon doesn't curse! And I was cursing 100 miles an hour! Every third word out of my mouth was a curse word! It took me about two weeks to realize, ‘Wait a minute, this guy doesn't curse!' Sometimes I'll be talking to him and cursing. I'll catch myself and try to use different words. But he'll just start laughing.

When a fighter first comes to you, and you spend time in the gym together, what type of personality or characteristic do you look for? What do you need to see in order to think: ‘I believe I can achieve something with this fighter!'

Their work ethic and their attitude towards the game. Someone who is willing to work hard and is open to learning new things. But, you get some guys who come into the gym, and they tell you what THEY want to do. They'll tell you, ‘I don't like when a trainer does this... I don't what to do that.' So, in the back of my mind, I'm thinking, ‘O.K., that's one point... there's another point...' Then when it's all over, I ask them: ‘What the hell do you need a trainer for? All you need is someone to put a towel around your shoulder, give you water and wipe your face. If you know so much, you don't need a trainer.' I've run into a couple of guys like that and I refuse to waste my time or theirs.

Arturo Gatti and Antonio Tarver appear to have so much trust in you. Do you feel you can get more out of a fighter by developing a bond with him?

Well, being an ex-fighter, I know how important it is for a fighter to trust his trainer. I've seen the good and the bad of this sport and I've been on the road that they're traveling right now. That's why I like to spend time with a fighter, to see if there's any chemistry there. Not only in the gym, but outside as well. If we click, the bond just happens and trust is established. I'm a firm believer in that, a fighter has to trust his trainer, more than anyone else. Because he needs to know when that bell rings and he turns to his corner, his trainer has 150% confidence in him.

When you take on a new fighter, the changes in him are often very noticeable. In a way, it's kind of like you're an auto mechanic. Cars roll into your garage, you fix them up, change their transmissions, give them new treads and bumpers and they come out running great!

(Laughs) You know, there are guys called ‘shady tree mechanics.' You see them in every ‘hood. He's a mechanic who works on someone's car in his back yard, under a shade tree and has a cigarette danglin' from his bottom lip. You go back there to see if your car is ready, but he's got it sittin' on top of cinder blocks with the engine pulled out. It might take him all day to get the car right, but dammit that car is gonna RUN! Well, that's me. I'm a shady tree mechanic. But instead of a cigarette, I've got a cigar.

just thought I'd add this to help out with the info.

I would say Lyakhovich has an excellent shot at beating Brewster.Krasniqi was beating Brewster easily until he decided to trade with him,if Sergei sticks to his gameplan and doesn't decide to trade with him he should win a UD.

Originally Posted by Klitschkofan

I would say Lyakhovich has an excellent shot at beating Brewster.Krasniqi was beating Brewster easily until he decided to trade with him,if Sergei sticks to his gameplan and doesn't decide to trade with him he should win a UD.

Great points...problem is...they never NEVER stick to the gameplan.

One always has to break out the dick & be the bigger man. Brewster can be easily outboxed...that has been shown on numerous occassions...but he is very rarely met a man that could take a flush punch.

Originally Posted by Klitschkofan

I would say Lyakhovich has an excellent shot at beating Brewster.Krasniqi was beating Brewster easily until he decided to trade with him,if Sergei sticks to his gameplan and doesn't decide to trade with him he should win a UD.

I've heard that, that Krasniqi was easily outboxing Brew, but I saw not that long ago and i though it was pretty close, a good fight


Still, I thought Krasniqi could fight a bit, he's not bad, in fact I think he's probably better than Sergei

I'm not sure I think McGirt has made the changes nessesary you read the interview?