Fighter of Faith – Lamon Brewster: “People will get to see what I’m made of”
Interview with the WBO Heavyweight Champion Part 2
 Interivew by "Big Dog" Benny Henderson Jr. (May 18, 2005)  
Photo © HoganPhotos.com
It’s here, and the WBO heavyweight champ is ready to show the world just what ‘Relentless’ Lamon Brewster is made of, and in the process once more deny Andrew Golota of any heavyweight hardware. The United Center in Chicago, IL will be ground zero for this Saturday’s ‘Border War’ when the iron fisted Indiana basher meets the Illinois brawling bad boy in a twelve round heavyweight clash that will be featured on HBO 9:45PM ET/6:45PM PT.

In his nine years as a pro Brewster has produced an impressive career with wins over Joey Guy (1st round TKO), Tommy Martin (3rd round TKO), the massive victory over Wladimir Klitschko (5th round TKO) when Lamon earned the WBO title. Eight months ago in his inaugural defense he retained his title against Kali Meehan with a 12 round split decision. With his unwillingness to quit and massive left hand, Brewster has an 84% KO ratio and has stopped thirteen victims in the first round, and his heart cannot be matched. The relentless one has proven before just how tough he is in the ring and this weekend’s clash he is once more prepared for battle, but this time under the tutelage of legendary trainer Jesse Reid all will witness a new, improved Lamon Brewster. A very hungry, entirely focused warrior, looking to not only win, but to win impressively. Andrew Golota is no pushover, and Lamon expects the punching bad boy to bring his A-game but intends to turn that A into an F and eventually have Golota end up with an L. Somebody is going to school to be taught a lesson and the champ looks to do the teaching so don’t blink. Lamon took time out of his strenuous schedule before fight night to give us his thoughts, enjoy.

Benny Henderson Jr.: Well, the fight with Golota is just around the corner how do you feel?

Lamon Brewster: I feel ready, I feel like I’ve had plenty of time to prepare for this fight and I’m just looking forward to putting on a great show.

BH: The bout was originally scheduled to take place in Memphis, TN on March12th but got pushed back and moved to Chicago, Golota’s turf. Was it discouraging for it to be pushed back and what are your thoughts on fighting in front of Golota’s hometown crowd, will they play a he part in the outcome?

LB: At first I was discouraged of course but that extra time helped me too. But with it being in Golota’s hometown it works against him because all the pressure is on him there is no pressure on me. The pressure is on him to perform well or what not it may just work in my favor.

BH: How long have you been in training camp now and how has it been training again with Jessie Reed?

LB: I’ve been in training camp since January 10th and working with Jesse has been a great experience for me and he has really been great at helping me to become the best I can be which I am going to show you on Saturday.

BH: Is there anything in particular that you are working on for this bout that you can tell us about?

LB: We have been working on my min, it was all in my mind baby.

BH: You know the saying, “Your only as good as your last fight”, you even stated to me that your weren’t happy with your performance against Meehan, you know this fight here you have to come with you’re A-game and fully focused, the last fight you didn’t seem as focused in my opinion. What steps have you taken for this bout to assure that you will be ready, fully prepared and entirely focused?

LB: Well I had a great camp, everybody was in the same accord, and we didn’t have the problems that occurred in the last camp. I have a great trainer who also has trained so many world champions he has so much experience and he knows what it takes for me to be successful and retain my title. I have prepared very hard so with all those things it is going to work in my favor.

BH: You always talk about your faith before a fight and after wards; you are a strong believer in the Lord and we can all see that. You talk about God finding favor with a man, what about the ones who don’t believe that and what would you say to the ones who don’t care to mix religion with sports?

LB: Well I would say that every man is entitled to his own opinion and that’s the beautiful thing about God, God don’t force anything upon us, He gives us free will and that’s the one thing that even the Angels don’t have is free will. So because gave us free will I can choose to serve Him or not, but because I am aware of all the things He has done for me from where he has taken me to where I am now I have to give thanks to him in everything that I do because I eat, I’ve had a great camp, I have cloths on my back, I’ve got food in my stomach. All those things, all these blessings are because of God. You look at the people who don’t have legs or arms, I thank God just because I have arms and legs, I have to be grateful and I have to acknowledge God in everything that I do. And that is what He says in His words, he says to acknowledge him in everything that we do.

BH: What has been the biggest lesson you have learned in your years as a professional fighter?

LB: Preparation is everything; you have to have preparation, spiritually, mentally, and physically. You have to have preparation to be successful. If you want to be successful and stay successful you have to have the right preparation, there is no cutting corners.

BH: What is your honest opinion on Golota as a fighter?

LB: I think he is a good fighter, I think he is tough and he is a dangerous fighter. I am just looking forward to fighting him because to prove that I am a great fighter I have to fight good fighters. I look forward to the challenge because he is a household name in boxing.

BH: Any predictions?

LB: Nah man, I always try to avoid predictions because I think I have to say to my self-only God knows the ending story to every man’s faith, destiny, dreams, goals. Out of confidence I say to you, I will be victorious, but I can’t say to you oh I’m going to knock him out or I’m going to go the distance. I’m ready and if God is with me then no man can be against me and I will have the victor Saturday night.

BH: If you can be quoted on anything about this fight what would you say?

LB: This fight people will get to see what I’m made of, they get to see more than just a guy who is tough, they get to see my skills in this fight.

BH: Is there anything you would like to add to this interview or say in closing?

LB: Well, I am very happy to be fighting in the mid-west because I am from the mid-west and I feel like this is me giving back. I think the tickets are very reasonable that people can afford to come see this fight. Some people couldn’t afford to come to the east coast and I just think this is great to have this fight here in the mid-west and I hope people will come out and support this because Chicago had a great history with championship bouts. A lot of champions resided here and there is a lot of history here, and I don’ think that Chicago should be a state that is forgotten.

I would like to thank Team Brewster for their help on setting up this interview and I want to give a very big shout to Lamon for his time and thoughts, as always it is greatly appreciated. For more info on Lamon please visit: http://www.lamonbrewster.com/.
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