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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.

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