Brown Fends Off Hook With KO in the Tenth

It wasn’t too long ago that Charlie “White Lightning” Brown was being threatened with the hook by people in the boxing business.

They said he might be through, that alcohol and the night life of New York had made him more of a pretender than a contender at 20.

Brown answered his critics Tuesday night at the Country Club in Reseda, knocking out Ted Michaliszyn of Las Vegas with a straight right hand 25 seconds into the 10th round.

With that punch, Brown gave his once-promising career a new start. It was his first win after suffering the only two losses of his career, losses that came after 23 consecutive wins.

The first defeat came in a lightweight title fight against former International Boxing Federation champion Harry Arroyo. The second came at the hands of an unknown named Harold Brazier at Lake Tahoe, which is one of the reasons Brown dumped his handlers and teamed up with Ten Goose Boxing less than a month ago.

He may have a long way to go before he once again fights for the lightweight title as he did less than a year ago. And no one knows that better than he does.

His win over Michaliszyn was about as pretty as it was easy--with Brown coming away groggy from a battle against a fighter he termed “mediocre.”

But a few more outings like it and a return to the top 10 in the rankings could be in sight.

“I needed this fight,” Brown said. “I needed the work. I’ve been off a long time. I should have knocked this guy out early, but I guess it’s good because I needed the time in the ring.

“He was a tough kid. He knew my reputation and he was up for it (the fight). I thought he was going down a few times, but he hung in there. He was fighting for his life.”

Brown said Michalisyzn dazed him once, but never hurt him.

“He was what I needed,” Brown said. “I was about 75% of what I should have been. He pushed me about as far as I could go.”

During the stretch of 23 consecutive wins that began his career, Brown appeared on network television three times and ESPN on several other occasions.

But he admitted after the fight that an ascent to the top is more difficult than falling from the ranks of a contender.

“I have no illusions,” Brown said. “It’s a long way from the top, but I’ve been there before. I know what I can do, and I know nothing comes easy.”

Ten Goose manager Dan Goossen said in the week preceding the fight that he thought television was once again in Brown’s immediate future.

First, however, there’s the matter of getting Brown back into top fighting shape.

In the month Brown has trained with Ten Goose he has shed 18 pounds. He weighed 140 for Tuesday’s scheduled 10-rounder, and he probably will drop five or six more before his next bout.

The loss of weight didn’t seem to affect Brown against Michaliszyn. He was hurt only twice, both times in the fourth round by right hands.

Brown, meanwhile, stung his opponent several times, effectively using a left hook and a straight right hand. He knocked Michaliszyn down for the first time with an overhand right early in the eighth round. Michaliszyn hit the canvas again 10 seconds before the end of round No. 9 when Brown caught him with a left hook.

Ten Goose trainer Joe Goossen was impressed with the effort of Brown, who was fighting for the first time in three months. He also had some kind words for Michaliszyn.

“That kid would have given anybody trouble tonight,” Goossen said. “He was a good guy for Charlie to fight. Michaliszyn was tough.

“Considering he was going back after such a long layoff, Charlie did a great job. He went nine good, hard rounds. If someone would have asked me before the fight if I wanted this to go 10, I would have said no, but it was probably for the best. He got a good workout in and still got the knockout.”

In other bouts Tuesday night, bantamweight Manny Olivas of Ten Goose knocked out Roberto Salazar at 2:02 of the third round. In another bantamweight fight, Fidel Briceno of Los Angeles knocked out an overmatched Robert Pantojas at 2:16 of the first round.

In the welterweight division, Emilio Barrera of Commerce improved his record to 4-1 with a unanimous decision over Jorge Lua of La Puente, while Vinard Weems of North Hollywood earned a draw in his professional debut against Francisco Diaz of Los Angeles.