New WBO Heavyweight champ

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Liakhovich Upsets Brewster to Win WBO Heavyweight Title

CLEVELAND (April 2, 2006) - The Cold War may be over, but the Russians refuse to go away. Despite being a huge underdog and having remained inactive for the past 16 months, Belarus native Sergei Liakhovich shocked the sports world by scoring a 12-round unanimous decision over champion Lamon Brewster to capture the WBO heavyweight title Saturday on SHOWTIME.

One of the most thrilling heavyweight fights in recent years aired live on SHOWTIME at 11 p.m. ET/PT from the Wolstein Center at Cleveland State University in Cleveland, Ohio, and was presented at a special time to accommodate fans who tuned in to the NCAA's Men's Final Four on CBS. The SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING broadcast also was part of a SHOWTIME Free Preview Weekend (March 31-April 3) in which the network opened its signal to 45 million TV households nationwide.

Liakhovich (23-1, 14 KOs), of Scottsdale, Ariz., by way of Vitebsk, Belarus, won the last five rounds on one scorecard, the final four on another and three out of the last four rounds on the third scorecard to win his first world title. Judge Phil Rogers scored it 117-110, Tom Miller had it 115-112, while Dana DePaolo tallied it 115-113.

"I answered Brewster every time," Liakhovich said. "Then, he felt my power."

The new WBO heavyweight champion overcame a seventh-round trip to the canvas and utilized both a punishing left jab and overhand right to take control in the late stanzas. After the bout, Liakhovich had nothing but praise for his counterpart.

"Brewster was a real great champion," Liakhovich said. "He hits real hard with power and has lots of will. After the fourth round, I knew I was controlling the fight, but Brewster hits like a mule. I felt like I did the right thing when I took a knee at the end of round seven. I almost sent him down twice, too."

Brewster (33-3, 29 KOs), of Los Angeles, scored the lone knockdown when he sent Liakhovich to one knee with only seconds remaining in the seventh round. Despite seeing his nine-bout winning streak come to an end, Brewster displayed the heart of a champion throughout and was gracious in defeat.

"Liakhovich deserved to win," Brewster said. "He earned it. I take my hat off to him. He won and we have a rematch. I cannot wait to do it again. He fought a good fight and is a good fighter. We both deserve to be at the top.

"I stayed on my feet in round nine from sheer will."

SHOWTIME broadcasters Steve Albert and Al Bernstein praised the heart displayed by both fighters.

"This was one of the best heavyweight championship fights in years," Albert said. "It was even more pronounced because it comes on the heels of recent heavyweight fights that have been lackluster. Boxing needed this - an exciting, competitive and compelling heavyweight fight. It clearly got it."

"Liakhovich gave a tremendously complete performance and he needed to," Bernstein said. "Brewster hit him with some tremendous punches. This fight was not only exciting, but it was skillfully fought. That is something we do not always see in the heavyweight division. "I cannot wait for the rematch."




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Liakhovich outpoints Brewster! The ???White Wolf??? shocks the world!

01.04.06 - By Izyaslav ???Slava??? Koza: Well, in retrospect, he didn???t really shock me and a few other writers who actually picked Liakhovich to win, but I???ll be a liar if I claim I was not on the edge of my seat. The shock came from the fact that he didn???t back down when Brewster finally started to go after him. Rather than clinch, the Belarus native did what true fighters do and that is, of course, fight back! No half hearted clinches, (even though, as a cheerleader, I was yelling for some), no running, no hiding but fighting. Damn, I know there are fans out there who just can???t get over the notion of actually seeing a real heavyweight fight.

The fight started tentatively enough with Brewster not doing much as usual, but Liakhovich not landing much cleanly either making the early rounds close. The first two rounds were debatable but in the third and fourth, Liakhovitch finally resolved to trying and taking the belt and taking it to Brewster. Brewster did not need a special invitation and the bout was heating up. Both fighters were now getting hurt, and in one of the middle rounds Brewster finally caught up with Liakhovich.

Rather then clinch as stated, Sergei waited Lamon up, and started fighting back hard towards the end of the round. For some reason, though Brewster was hurt the bell rang five seconds before the end of the round, and the Liakhovich camp weary of foul play protested loudly. Be that as it may, karma came back to save Liakhovich from a similar fate. Again, in the instance rather than clinch or hold, Sergei took his opponent???s aggression on the gloves, face, and most surprisingly on the ropes where Brewster wanted to dish it out the most. At that point, it looked as if Sergei was on his way out when he wisely decided to take a knee, something that obviously helped him gain a second wind.

In the very next round, a high shot to the top of Brewster???s head sent him reeling and Liakhovich, like a white shark sensing blood, right after him. Honestly, it was worse than the beating that forced Sergei take a knee, and was basically one big punch and one bad reaction to it, from being stopped. The problem was over aggression on Sergei???s part who smothered his punches much like Meehan did. Had Sergei stepped back and not wasted the punches that missed, I truly believe he could have stopped Lamon right then and there. Needless to say, these recessions, and climaxes in advantage to either fighter were taking their toll on both men???s stamina, and on the nerves of fans everywhere.

To Liakhovich???s credit, he picked Kenny Weldon as his trainer for this fight. Even though yelling and shouting is usually in effective, in this instance Weldon did the right thing. Sergei was so focused on and so within that instinct to ???give??? just as good as he gets, that it could have gotten him knocked out and Weldon knew it. His words were forceful and important, ???The next time I find your back on the ropes, I???ll hit you with the damn stool,??? and ???IF YOU STAND IN FRONT OF THIS MAN, YOU WILL GET KNOCKED OUT.??? It was unbelievable to see Weldon echo the thoughts many of us had, sitting at home (and not thinking on a fighter???s instinct) and clearly seeing what Brewster wanted.

Thankfully for him, Liakhovich, listened to his trainer???s advice. From that point forward, though, he was not exactly running, he was taking less chances, and thereby giving Brewster less of a chance to win. Liakhovich had proven his point and stood toe to toe with Brewster and for the most part, made it out alive, and also had forced Brewster to outwork himself as well. Brewster was missing wildly when Liakhovich kept his distance, and that was not helping him sneak in the needed punches to change it around. It had reached the point where with 40 seconds to go Liakhovich was taunting Brewster sensing victory was less then a minute away. Of course, those of us who were cheering for him were yelling at the TV for him to stop it, and those who were cheering for Brewster hoped Lamon would take advantage, but the war had taken its toll on his ability to pull out that last needed punch. The fight was over!

There was little chance that they would take it from Liakhovich but the chance was still there as always. However, on this night, there was no controversy, as the rightfully deserving man, from Vitebsk Belarus took his crown. After the fight, both men were very gracious and basically agreed to a rematch right then and there. Sergei reminded the hostile American crowd that the ???American Dream??? and the underdog immigrants who realize it, on 100$ borrowed dollars, are one of the reasons that make the U.S. such a great country.

Though I am happy with Sergei???s victory, there are a few things I wish to god he does not do, in order to take away from its significance. For one, I hope he does not get cocky, and focus on matters outside the ring rather then inside it. Right now, he has as good a chance as the other top heavyweights to become the ???man,??? and inactivity and light training won???t help him. As Vitali Klitschko said after his victory over Corrie Sanders, ???the defense of the title is harder than taking it,??? and that is precisely what Liakhovich, and all new champions should remember. There are many fighters just as hungry as the champ was when he won, and with no belt to lose, looking to get their respect. Furthermore, Sergei need not try to prove himself as much as he did in this fight, though its appreciated and in certain instances necessary, the man has enough skill and brain to not make use of it as much. Lennox Lewis was the ???man??? in part because though he had the fighter mentality, it was a means of last resort in fights where his skill was enough.

For now, however, congratulations to Liakhovich for becoming the first Belarussian world champion, and the fourth CIS fighter to hold a heavyweight belt. If Wladimir Klitschko can take Chris Byrd again and regain a heavyweight title, and Oleg Maskaev can repeat against Hasim Rahman in their tentatively scheduled bout, the heavyweight titles will be held by four men from the former Soviet Union. Though the country they once shared is no more, they are making their legendary predecessors proud, by continuing to carry on their great legacy.​