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Brewster vs. Golota: Who Do You Trust?
Greg Smith - 5/19/2005
This weekend’s WBO heavyweight title bout pitting Lamon Brewster against Andrew Golota is being met with about as much anticipation as George Bush reciting Shakespeare in Greenwich Village. Brewster is considered the weakest of the heavyweight belt holders, and Andrew Golota is known for illegal tactics and psychological meltdowns in high profile fights. At first glance, the combination seems to equate to yet another meaningless stinker in an era of lackluster heavyweight title bouts.
Nevertheless, don’t be fooled by the label. A lot of people will actually end up watching this fight. HBO used some clever marketing savvy by showing Brewster vs. Golota after the replay of Winky Wright’s masterful dominance of Tito Trinidad. For those who didn’t shell out PPV money last Saturday, many will tune in to watch Wright’s Ph.D. jab, and stick around in both cryptic and morbid intrigue to see what develops between “Relentless” Lamon and The Foul Pole.
Picking a winner in this fight seems fairly easy. Golota has arguably won both of his last two title fights against Byrd and Ruiz regardless of whether the judges agreed. Golota has been in with better opposition, has better boxing skills, and is the kind of fighter who will take advantage of Brewster’s penchant for sometimes performing like a journeyman with a sparring partner's mentality.
At the same time, Andrew is hard to trust. He’s an expert at prying defeat from the jaws of victory. Fighting in front of his adopted hometown fans in Chicago might prove to be more of a hindrance than a support mechanism for the unstable Pole. More importantly, Andrew tends to fold against fighters who can withstand his arsenal, and come back with serious artillery of their own. Byrd and Ruiz weren’t the kind of punchers to bring out some of Golota’s darker, more abysmal character traits.
Lamon Brewster is the kind of fighter with the character and power to put the worst of Golota on display. He can play opossum, and then suddenly turn the tide of the bout with one big bomb. Tangibly, Lamon Brewster should be cannon fodder for Golota. He’s slow, methodical, and has a bad knee. When he’s under duress, he’s about as likely to use lateral movement as George Foreman did against Michael Moorer.
But therein lies the intrigue of this bout. Brewster has a ton of heart, can absorb a heavy shelling against more technically skilled opposition, and then rebound with knockout power. Jesse Reid and Brewster seem to have gelled, and have stated that they’re not planing to leave this one in the hands of the judges.
In the end, it comes down to whether you trust Golota’s superior experience and boxing skills, or Brewster’s heart and power. The oddsmakers have made Golota the clear favorite. Based on recent history, that seems to be a fair assessment. Realistically, boxing is often more about intangibles than tangibles, and Brewster is the kind of spoiler who can become the hunter instead of the hunted with a fighter like Golota in front of him.
Don’t bet on this one, but it will be interesting to see Golota’s reaction when Brewster lands a few bombs laced with surprisingly bad intentions. Will Golota overcome his demons, keep his head, and prove the oddsmakers right, or will he have flashbacks that put him under for good?
It’s a more intriguing bout than the critics are leading us to believe.
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