Brewster Thinks It’s His Place

Lamon Brewster has already taken the first swing of tonight’s fight against Wladimir Klitschko. He threw it last month at a news conference in Los Angeles, aiming it not at Klitschko but at a microphone.

Poised to address the media, an emotional Brewster, tears in his eyes, sent the microphone flying, then fled the dais.

The obvious reaction would be to take note of this fight’s promoter and figure it’s yet another Don King stunt.

In this case, however, King’s histrionics weren’t necessary. So much emotion has been bubbling in both Brewster and Klitschko that King could afford to take a vow of silence and still have a successful promotion.

Brewster has spent his career in the shadows, fighting no-names and losing to a couple of them. He can turn it around tonight, in this battle for the World Boxing Organization heavyweight championship, if he can do to Klitschko what he did to that microphone.

“This ain’t just a fight,” said Brewster (29-2, 26 knockouts) at that L.A. news conference. “This is the one chance in my life to have something. Fighting is something I’ve been doing since I was 7 years old. I’m 30 now and I’ve shed more blood than anybody in this room with the dream that, someday, I could be heavyweight champion of the world.

“So I didn’t come to talk. I have come to fight to the death.”

All that for the WBO heavyweight crown? Certainly it’s not as highly regarded as the titles of the World Boxing Council, World Boxing Assn. or International Boxing Federation. Still, considering today’s fractured heavyweight picture, one title can be as valuable as another.

Yet even if Brewster, a 6 1/2-1 underdog, were to pull off the upset, it would be bittersweet, because Bill Slayton, his trainer since 1991, won’t be in his corner to share in the celebration. Slayton died of cancer in October.

“He saw my struggle,” Brewster said. “He felt my pain. He saw my tears. Bill Slayton taught me to be a man. I will go into that ring with his spirit. All he ever wanted was for me to be the heavyweight champion. On his deathbed, he said, ‘I want to be with you when you get the title unless God has got other plans for me.’ ”

Klitschko (42-2, 39) has his own motivation. He won the WBO title by beating Chris Byrd in 2000 and successfully defended it five times before being stunned by Corrie Sanders last year, on a second-round technical knockout. The title became vacant when Sanders opted to fight for the WBC crown.

If Klitschko can regain the championship tonight and his brother, Vitali, can beat Sanders in their match for the vacant WBC title in two weeks at Staples Center, it will be the fulfillment of a Klitschko family goal.

“My brother and I have a dream to be champions at the same time,” Wladimir said. “It has never been done before. It will not be easy, but we have the chance to do it.”

Wladimir, who weighed in at 243 pounds, figures to hold up his end of the dream. Brewster (226), who has lost to second-rate opponents Clifford Etienne and Charles Sufford, has a puncher’s chance at best.

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In the semi-main event, Cory Spinks (32-2, 10) holder of the WBC/WBA/IBF welterweight crowns, puts his undisputed titles on the line against Zab Judah (30-1, 22).