BraggingRightsCorner.com - " Brewster Demolishes Golota in 1st Round to Retain His WBO Title "... by Mike Leanardi

I always found it remarkable how a boxer can seem like two completely different people from one fight to the next. Lamon Brewster, who looked unmotivated and average in his last fight against Kali Meehan appeared to be a man possessed this Saturday night, as he stepped into the ring against Andrew Golota. Golota, on the other hand, looked strong in his last fight against John Ruiz, a fight most ringside observers thought he had won, but tonight he looked like the weaker fighter who simply got blown out of the ring.

As the bell rang Brewster went straight after Golota, who stood right in front of him, not realizing that he should move and box a fighter like Brewster. Approximately 16 seconds into the round a Lamon Brewster left hook dropped the overwhelmed Golota to the canvas. A second knockdown followed moments later, almost knocking Golota out of the ring. It was immediately followed by a third knockdown, causing the referee to stop the fight. The official particulars were Lamon Brewster winner by TKO in 53sec of round #1.

In a way the fight finished before it even got a chance to start. It was so quick and decisive that the only real question we can ask is whether it really happened. For me there are two interesting points that arose from watching this fight. The first one is whether Andrew Golota froze or did he simply just get caught by a good punch? In all honesty it appeared like a little of both. Golota has never been comfortable fighting with a lot of pressure and there is nothing more stressful for some fighters than fighting in front of your hometown fans who expect nothing short of a great performance. It is true that Golota got caught by a great left hook but from the onset it was apparent that his ring awareness and perhaps strategy were not up to par, as he didn’t try to outbox Brewster but simply stood in front of him in a largely defensive position.

The second question I’m sure most of us have is, why hasn’t Lamon Brewster fought like this before? While it is certainly possible that Brewster has put behind all his past hardships, including the death of his trainer, and that from now on he will be a more focused and offensively ferocious fighter. It is also plausible to assume that he simply had Golota’s number and that his next fight against a heavyweight who can box will be reminiscent of his last fight against Kali Meehan. Despite all the lingering doubts and questions that are an ever present part of boxing gossip, Brewster made a strong point tonight that he is a threat to all the other top heavyweights and that his name should be mentioned along with the likes of Vitali Klitschko and Chris Bird. As usual it seems that we are left waiting for a sequel to this great fighter’s story. It will continue in his next fight which might possibly be against Vitali Klitschko himself, and if that transpires then we will know for certain how good Lamon Brewster really is.

5-21-2005