by James Slater – 36-year-old Lamon Brewster, the former WBO heavyweight champion, is set to continue his comeback this December 5th, when he will meet unbeaten 25-year-old German-based Italian southpaw Franceso Pianeta over a scheduled eight-rounds. “Relentless” was closely out-pointed by the little-known Nigerian Gbenga Oloukun back in August, while the 6’5″ Pianeta is coming off a looks-good-on-paper corner retirement win over Britain’s Matt Skelton..
A risky fight for both men – for Pianeta the fight will be his first against a former “world” champion of any kind, for Brewster the fight, if he loses it, could end his career – the heavyweight rumble will take place on the under-card of the WBO cruiserweight title fight between Marco Huck and Ola Afolabi.
Brewster was doing okay in his post-Wladimir Klitschko rematch loss return; having won two in a row against decent opposition since the July 2007 corner retirement loss. But the momentum Brewster made was spoilt by the points loss to Oloukun. Disgusted with the verdict, the 36-year-old who fell to 35-5(30) with the setback, shook his head and appeared utterly crestfallen as the decision was made official. Now taking a gamble with the Pianeta fight – a fight where a win would get him some good publicity – Brewster has it all to prove.
So too does the big Italian lefty, however, which is what makes the fight such an interesting one (within reason). His becoming only the second man to have stopped “Bedford Bear” Skelton looks good on Pianeta’s record, but before the September fight the 25-year-old had been held to a controversial draw by Poland’s Albert Sosnowski – a fight many people felt Pianeta lost. And without a doubt, Skelton had lost a lot because of the war he’d had with Martin Rogan in his previous fight. Brewster, even at age 36, represents a step up in class for the reigning European Union heavyweight titlist.
A fight where anything could happen – will Brewster grow old (or older as some would say) in the fight? Or will Pianeta be exposed as something of a hype job come Dec. 5th? – the action should be good. Brewster, though he will be giving away a lot of height, reach and weight, has to be looked at as the bigger puncher of the two men, but can he land a bomb on the towering, younger fighter?
If the fight goes to the cards, and if Brewster has had some lazy rounds, it’s likely Pianeta, 19-0-1(12) will get the nod. Brewster really has to go for it in this one, and it goes without saying how a sensational KO would be great for him. As experienced and as powerful as he is, Brewster always has a chance of scoring a stoppage, but a Pianeta points win does look a good bet.
Had it been a prime Lamon Brewster he was going up against, Pianeta’s chances would not look anywhere near as good, but it’s all about timing in this sport. Unless he has more left than it appeared in the Oloukun fight, Brewster’s top level career could well come to an end next month.