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While David Haye has gathered plenty of believers around the globe that he can be the man to end the Klitschko World Domination Tour, former WBO Heavyweight champ Lamon Brewster does not like the Brit’s chances on June 20. “Are you crazy?! Wladimir Klitschko is the best heavyweight in the world. He’s strong, he’s staying busy and active,” said Brewster by phone on Sunday night. “I’m not hating on David Haye but he’s not gonna beat Wladimir Klitschko. I think Wladimir is a tremendous fighter.”
Brewster, who famously defeated Klitschko for the vacant WBO title five years ago on April 10, 2004, but lost in a rematch last year, knows too well what makes Dr. Steelhammer so effective. “His jab was much better in the second fight. He has a very good half-jab that he only brings half-way back,” Brewster says. “And he can follow it with the right. He never commits that jab, he was very effective with the half-jab. He was more effective that night.”
The American simply could never solve that relentless Klitschko left poke. “I started getting desperate. He was using the half-jab and he was running much more than the first fight. He was very confident and effective using his half-jab. I couldn’t get to him because of that half-jab. I was very frustrated.”
As the Klitschkos continue to dominate, and other Eastern Europeans position themselves in the top 10 rankings, Brewster is not overly optimistic about the work ethic of his fellow American heavyweights. “The Eastern Europeans can fight for every second of every round,” said Brewster, who also boxed Sergei Liakhovich, Andrew Golota and Luan Krasniqi. “Here in America, a lot of them are lazy. They really are, dude. A lot of American fighters have gotten lazy because there’s so much money to be made.”
But Brewster has another interesting explanation for the under-achieving by American heavyweights. “The biggest thing is a lot of the old trainers have died out – like Eddie Futch and Bill Slayton.”
