"There are fighters that, at times, seem to want to give it their absolute all, but when faced with adversity, like an injury during a fight or the loss of a fight, they seem to fall apart. Man, I've dealt with inner-ring adversities as well as outer-ring adversities, with the most adverse issue being my mother dying while I was in training for a fight. I was close to my mom and her passing tore me apart, but I became more determined than ever to beat the shit out of my opponent and claim victory in her honor," stated former super middleweight champion Charles Brewer as he reflected on his own career and discussed the future of boxing. Check it out!
PC: How has everything been going Hatchet?
CB: Everything is Well. I'm too blessed to be stressed!
PC: What have you been up to these days?
CB: Working and family life. It's funny, I've actually had to make an adjustment to being a somewhat homebody after retiring
PC: You are a little over 5 years removed from retiring from the ring. What do you miss most about being an active fighter?
CB: Hmmmmm...well, I could easily say money, which wouldn't be a lie, but I'd have to say the training. I don't particularly miss the "inner ring" action. I always gave 100% of myself and I believe, on most occasions, it showed. My training regimen was tough, but I maintained it, you know? I pretty much carried a no-nonsense mentality when it came to me getting in shape. I could use some of that mentality now (laughing).
PC: You come from the great fight city of Philadelphia. Who were some of your early influences in the game?
CB: You know, I really didn't have many, but one of my favorite fighters when I was coming up was Meldrick Taylor. I admired his hand speed and boxing ability.
PC: Philly just lost a great one in Bennie Brisco. What are some of your memories of him?
CB: Personally, I only met Bennie maybe Once or twice, although I've been told the stories of how tough of a fighter he was during his time and how he too was a no-nonsense style fighter
PC: You have been in some memorable fights. What fight sticks out the most in your mind and why?
CB: You know, I've been on TV since my first fight back on August 3, 1989 and many or most of them were televised, but if I were to choose one, it'd be the fight versus Herol Graham of England, which, by the way, was a non-televised fight on the Shannon Briggs vs. Lennox Lewis card in AC. The reason why I've chosen this fight is because I fought one of the slickest fighters to have never acquired a World Championship during his time. Grahams style, he was a lefty, gave me some problems early on in the fight. In fact, in the 3rd round, I was dropped by a straight Left thrown by Graham and as a result, I twisted and tore 3 ligaments in my right ankle. For the rest of the fight, I had tried my best to not show that I was injured; this against a left (laughing). Fortunately, he, nor no one in his corner, picked up that I had injured my ankle, and believe me, that shit was hurting; so much so that I told my trainer, "When I catch that motherfucker, he's going to sleep!" Well, my youthfulness paid off. As the rounds progressed, Graham began to slow down and in the 10th round, I threw a right hook that caught him flush on the chin and paralyzed him. He was out on the ropes and within seconds, the referee had pulled me off him and immediately I dropped to the canvas to nurture my ankle. For this victory, I was voted Fighter of the Month by Ring Magazine.
PC: Who do you enjoy watching fight today and is there anyone out there that reminds you a little bit of yourself?
CB: Good question. I often ask myself the exact same thing from time to time and as of yet, I'd have to say no. The reason...well, there are fighters that, at times, seem to want to give it their absolute all, but when faced with adversity, like an injury during a fight or the loss of a fight, they seem to fall apart. Man, I've dealt with inner-ring adversities as well as outer-ring adversities, with the most adverse issue being my mother dying while I was in training for a fight. I was close to my mom and her passing tore me apart, but I became more determined than ever to beat the shit out of my opponent and claim victory in her honor. And of course it happened and the fight was nationally televised. I'd say Zab somewhat reminds me of myself, but I'd like to see him just go all out when he feels he's in a very competitive match. I truly expected more out of him when he fought Floyd. Don't get me wrong, Floyd is the best thing out there right now, in my opinion, and early on, he gave a competitive fight, but couldn't carry it through to the end. But Zab's my man!
PC: The Philadelphia boxing scene always has some talented fighters. Is there anyone we should be looking out for?
CB: There are quite a few, and I don't want to leave anyone out, but right off of the top of my head, there's Danny Garcia, who's beginning to make national noise on the fight scene.
PC: How impressed are you by the fact that Bernard Hopkins can still fight at such a high level, even at the age of 45?
CB: I wouldn't say that I'm impressed, but moreso it being an expectation. Bernard and I are somewhat of the same type, both mentally and physically, of fighters. I expect for him to maintain at the level that he's competing at just as I would maintain probably even moreso for him, because he's at a point in his career where most fighters never reach, especially at this level, without being someone's punching bag anyway. I don't give him applause for his maintaining, but coming from me, it's an expectation for him, to now be in the Seniors League, to exude his experience and ring generalship at every given opportunity.
PC: Are there any upcoming fights you are looking forward to?
CB: Oh Yeah...Timothy Bradley vs. Devon Alexander. This is going to be a barnburner.
PC: Thanks for your time champ. I wish you the best of luck in 2011. Is there anything you want to say to close out this interview?
CB: Not a problem. 2011 may actually be interesting in terms of me and as far as boxing is concerned. I'm working on a few boxing Oriented things, so stay tuned!
[ Follow Percy Crawford on Twitter @MrLouis1ana ]