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Antwun Echols faces Charles Brewer for the NABA Super Middleweight Title on Showtime Boxing
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00:00coming up next from the mohegan sun in uncasville connecticut our main event former world champ
00:05charles brewer set to go against antoine eccles for the vacant naba super middleweight crown this
00:11one has the ingredients of a slugfest well the term crossroads fight is often overused in boxing
00:19but how else to describe the matchup between charles brewer and antoine eccles with brewer
00:24having dropped a pair of close decisions to super middleweight champ sven oki and eccles twice losing
00:29the middleweight king bernard hopkins only one of these fighters is likely to secure a third crack
00:34at a world title the loser moves to the back of a very long line
00:45i like to consider myself a boxer puncher but there are some individuals who look at me as being a
00:51puncher but for the most part boxing and puncher is the style i feel is almost comfortable with bernard hopkins
01:01the guy was uh crafty bernard was doing a lot of rough housing for me to keep my footing for
01:08me to
01:09keep in the fight i had to you know push bernard a little bit myself the one thing i'm not
01:13looking
01:13forward to is a dirty fight and uh of course after viewing the fights when i'm in hopkins one and
01:18two
01:19things happen i wasn't showing too many boxing skills and i was lacking any experience but uh the antoine
01:25eccles today has the experience the boxing skills hard determination and all the above i think you'll
01:34see fireworks without a doubt um of course i have a game plan i have a strategy i intend or
01:40opposing
01:41on antoine eccles the uh openings at the super middleweight division there's nothing going on there
01:47i mean when i beat a charles brewer it's gonna open the doors up for me as far as uh
01:53getting a title fight
01:55because the hourglass is slowly being filled up and i um i want to accomplish and acquire everything
02:01that i can monetarily wise and walk away from the sport and say i gave it my all i accomplished
02:06something that thousands of fighters set out to accomplish and that's becoming a world champion
02:10and hopefully be able to say i was world champion two or three times
02:21and the time is now for charles brewer and antoine eccles who face off tonight a fight that neither
02:26can afford to lose back here with the former world champion of bobby chezz and and bobby can
02:32eccles adjust to the strength of brewer given the fact that this is eccles first title fight at 168 pounds
02:39he has fought at this weight before going four one and one but do you think the jump in weight
02:43for
02:43echoes will be a significant factor well as you said steve he's had a half a dozen fights at this
02:47weight so he is familiar with the strength but he hasn't faced a puncher or a guy as strong as
02:52charles
02:52brew in the past he may have to make the adjustments to the strength and the power but more importantly
02:56he
02:56has to execute the right strategy he doesn't push brewer backward keep punches in his face work him hard
03:01and work him often he could be in for a very long night but if he does the right things
03:04he has a chance
03:05of winning eccles talked about the craftiness of hopkins what about the craftiness of brewer well
03:12brewer is crafty probably not as crafty or as experienced as hopkins but he's a tough fighter with
03:17good power and he came here hungry brewer does have a questionable chin eccles does have a big punch
03:23makes it a very interesting fight well you know they both can bang a little bit and they both have
03:28had
03:28some questions both been stopped only twice and not so recently so we'll see it's it's a question though
03:34both are predicting an explosive fight we'll see what happens the fans are eager to see it
03:38let's break it down and get your keys to victory for this fight okay steve will it be power and
03:43precision or punches and bunches from every angle that's victorious
03:50for charles brewer first thing control the pace he doesn't like to hurry he's very methodical
03:54next up sharp counter punching if you miss he will make you pay and lastly land those power shots he
03:59can
04:00hit with the left and the right hands here brewer facing us going to throw a nice double jab against
04:05gary ballard and what ballard does is drop his left hand you can't see because it's on the other side
04:09but it comes down and right over the top comes a crushing right hand that puts ballad on the canvas
04:15that is the super middleweight power that eccles has to watch out for and a sharp right hand
04:19that comes and has knocked down many a super middleweight
04:25antoine eccles what he has to do is set a fast pace not let charles brewer set and also push
04:30brewer
04:30backward brewer does not punch well or fight while going backward and lastly outwork brewer out hustling
04:35he's thrown upwards of 100 punches in some fights per round here nice right hand another right hand he
04:41follows it up with morph shots uppercuts underneath the other right hand over the top and back with jabs
04:46constantly working this is when eccles is at his best pushing his opponents backwards and working
04:50he's back outside he won't stay there for long that's not a distance he wants to be at with brewer
04:55he's going to come back in with some jabs then he's going to start working body shots again this time
04:59going almost exclusively to the body he's a constant workman he likes to keep his opponents all balanced
05:05with punches in their faces from every angle head and body this is how he's worn many a fighter down
05:10and knocked him out you'll need to do the same against bro all right bobby so here at uncle's pavilion
05:18at
05:18mohegan sun uncasville connecticut we are getting set for the ring walks for our main event charles brewer versus antoine
05:25eccles
05:41that's anyone else i want to do the same thing
05:59they're so hilarious
06:02thank you
06:19The always dangerous Antoine Echols, Kid Dynamite, former NAVF, current USBA middleweight champ,
06:27altered it on the 92 US Olympic team, losing controversially to Raul Marquez, twice losing to middleweight champ Bernard Hopkins
06:34the last time, six months ago, a bizarre, ugly, foul-filled brawl. He lost by 10th round TKO. Factors going
06:42in for Echols, Bobby, the jump in weight, the inactivity, how much did that last Hopkins fight take out of
06:48him, and, of course, tonight's opponent.
06:49You know, Steve, all of those factors, or any one of them, could contribute to the outcome of this fight.
06:54Only Echols knows how he feels at this weight, how the layoff hurt him, if Hopkins took something out of
06:59him.
06:59But, personally, I feel his biggest problem is going to be exactly that. Charles Brewer. If he lets Brewer settle
07:04into Brewer's pace, counterpunch him, and doesn't out-hustle him and swarm him, he's in for a horrible evening.
07:10And, we are ready now for the hatchet, Charles Brewer.
07:28Good luck, good luck, good luck, good luck, good luck, good luck.
07:43Like Echols' last opponent, Bernard Hopkins, Brewer, a tough Philadelphia fighter, not only a boxer, but also a computer programmer.
07:52But he says boxing is in his soul.
07:55Ranked number four by the IVF, coming into some traumatic music here.
07:59The former IVF super middleweight champ, won the vacant crown via convincing fifth-round TKO of South African Gary Ballard
08:08in 97, three defenses.
08:11Lost the title, controversially, to German Sven Aki in Germany, and the rematch, also in Germany, lost again by split
08:20decision.
08:21Both Brewer and Echols can punch Bobby. Might this come down to a battle of chins?
08:26You know what, Steve, both fighters have only been stopped twice in their careers, but it's not been the stoppages.
08:30There have been fights where both of them have been hit by punches that didn't seem all that tremendous, and
08:34have both been wobbled badly.
08:36I think this is going to come down to who picks the right strategy, and who executes.
08:41Pure and simple.
08:42Brewer executes, he wins.
08:44Vigital hustled, and Antoine Echols executes, he wins.
08:48Brewer has been hurt and known to go down in the early rounds.
08:52We'll see what happens as we size him up with the tail of the tape.
08:56Echols is three years younger than Brewer.
08:58Two-inch height advantage and a five-inch reach advantage for Brewer.
09:01And yesterday's weigh-in, both were under.
09:04And the key unified rules for this fight.
09:09There's no standing eight count, no three-knockdown rule.
09:12A fighter cannot be saved by the bell in any round.
09:14If an accidental headbutt occurs before the end of the fourth round, the fighters ruled a no contest.
09:20If it happens after the end of round four, they go to the scorecards.
09:23So here at the Uncas Pavilion, we're getting ready for our main event,
09:26Charles Brewer versus Antoine Echols for the marginal NABA Super Middleweight Championship.
09:31The official introductions from our ring announcer, the classy Jimmy Lennon Jr.
09:40Ladies and gentlemen, we welcome you to Mohegan Sun here in Uncasville, Connecticut
09:46for the featured bout of the evening brought to you by Main Events Incorporated
09:52in association with Showtime Championship Boxing and Miller Lite.
09:58This bout coming away is sanctioned by the North American Boxing Association,
10:03Supervisor George Martinez, along with the Mohegan Tribal Gaming Commission Athletic Unit.
10:08Unit Chief is Jerry Boyle.
10:11Introducing to you our judges.
10:13Scoring this main event from ringside, from Cromwell, Connecticut, Stephen Epstein,
10:18from West Hartford, Connecticut, George Smith,
10:21and from Yorktown Heights, New York, Fred Ucci,
10:25and our referee in charge, the third man in the ring, Michael Ortega.
10:32All right, fans, here we go with the main event of the evening,
10:3612 rounds of boxing for the NABA Super Middleweight Championship.
10:41And now, ladies and gentlemen in attendance, and boxing fans joining us around the world,
10:48live from Mohegan Sun, it's Showtime!
10:59Introducing to you first on my left, fighting out of the blue corner,
11:04wearing white trunks with red and black trim,
11:06fighting out of St. Petersburg, Florida, by way of Davenport, Iowa.
11:11He weighed in at a trim and ready 165 pounds,
11:16with a record of 24 wins, 4 losses, and 1 draw.
11:20He has 23 big wins, coming by way of knockout.
11:24Ladies and gentlemen, here is the USBA and NABF middleweight champion,
11:29introducing Kid Dynamite, Antoine Echols.
11:39And his opponent, across the ring on my right,
11:42fighting out of the red corner, this 12-round vacant championship bout,
11:46wearing black trunks with white trim,
11:48fighting out of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
11:50He weighed in at 167 pounds.
11:55His record stands at 36 wins,
11:577 losses, with 26 wins,
12:00coming by way of knockout.
12:01He is currently ranked the number 4 super middleweight contender.
12:06Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome,
12:08the former IBF super middleweight champion of the world,
12:13Charles the Hatchet Brewer.
12:21Once again, a referee in charge, Michael Ortega,
12:23now to give instructions, 12 rounds of boxing schedule.
12:31The gentleman went over the rules and won a good, clean fight.
12:33Protect yourself at all times.
12:35Obey my commands at all times.
12:37Best of luck to both of you, touch them up.
12:41Charles Brewer told us he is looking for the knockout.
12:44A natural left-hander who became a conventional fighter,
12:47so he has more power in his left.
12:49Known throughout his career as a pretty fast starter.
12:52Very aggressive.
12:53Echols, a high work rate, good punching power,
12:57who says he'll test Brewer's chin immediately.
13:00Here we go.
13:01Round 1 scheduled for 12.
13:03Steve, we just came off two one-round knockouts,
13:06well, two early knockouts, I would not be surprised
13:09if this goes one or goes the full 12.
13:13Both mainly like to brawl.
13:21Brewer told us he expected Echols to come out very aggressively
13:25right from the opening bell.
13:27Both showing respect, got the hands high,
13:30very tentative, good jabs,
13:31but the jabs are not really meant to necessarily land yet.
13:35There's the first left hook by Brewer.
13:38Echols said his power will be the difference,
13:40but he'll also look to use his boxing skills more,
13:43fight more like number one junior middleweight,
13:46Winky Wright, also trained by Echols' new trainer,
13:48Dan Birmingham.
13:50Echols has been through a series of trainers of late.
13:57It seems to be settled down, though,
13:59with Dan Birmingham.
14:02Both looking to establish the jab.
14:05There's a right hand by Echols.
14:07Now Echols coming in.
14:09Some good shots there on that inside
14:11by Charles Brewer.
14:16Echols now turning it up.
14:21Echols being busy, here he goes.
14:23This is what he needs to do.
14:24All over Brewer,
14:26and then Brewer wisely gets out of the corner.
14:30Brewer feels that Echols can be careless,
14:32and that he is more of the harness-type fighter.
14:37Nice right hand by Charles Brewer.
14:39Ebb and flow to this first round.
14:43Some telling punches early.
14:46Now back comes Echols.
14:49Back comes Brewer,
14:50but Brewer missing with the left-right.
14:53Both fighters trying to get some power,
14:55get some respect,
14:56get their pound of flesh,
14:57as I like to call it.
14:58Both of them landing well
15:00and getting return.
15:06Everybody figuring this would be a shootout,
15:08and it's off to that kind of a start.
15:13Echols trying to go to the body with the left.
15:20Those punches by Brewer blocked by Echols,
15:23so is that jab.
15:27Brewer is how much more effective Echols is
15:29when he's pushing Brewer back.
15:31Brewer feels that Echols
15:33can fight going backwards,
15:35and that he can.
15:36There's a big right hand
15:37that got through the defense by Brewer.
15:43Oh, wow.
15:44Heavy right right on the top of Echols' head.
15:47You know, when Echols rubs his head like that's illegal,
15:48it's not illegal to get hit on top of the head.
15:51No way.
15:52It's illegal to get hit on the back of the head.
15:57Some good action here in the opening round.
16:00Furious exchanges,
16:02and Echols sticks his tongue out at Brewer.
16:04Very close round.
16:10Hey, Sam.
16:11Yeah, I'm sure.
16:12Keep your hands up high.
16:13Don't drop me.
16:13Keep your hands high.
16:14You're not as strong as I'm telling you.
16:15I know, I know,
16:16but it don't work like that.
16:17Get that.
16:18Keep your hands up high.
16:19Listen, listen.
16:20Keep it up high.
16:21Hit the body.
16:22Throw the round here.
16:23Okay.
16:23Okay.
16:23Keep your hands right here.
16:24Right behind it.
16:25Bring your left hand right back up,
16:26because you're supposed to be throwing that right hand.
16:28Okay, man.
16:30Stay in your rhythm.
16:31Don't be flat-footed.
16:32All right?
16:33Box in your rhythm.
16:35Throw in the feint every now and then.
16:36When he's looking for your jab,
16:37throw the feint.
16:38Throw the feint.
16:39Double feint.
16:40Stay in control.
16:42Nice four-five punch combinations.
16:46End it around.
16:46Antoine Echols has the bell rings.
16:49That's not a boxing move I highly recommend.
16:51There's that little tongue stick out.
16:53You don't get points for that.
16:57Hands high move.
16:59Step to the side.
17:02Bobby Boogaloo Watts in the face of Charles Brewer there.
17:05Stylish Philadelphia middleweight,
17:07who beat marvelous Marvin Hagler in Philadelphia in 1976,
17:11but got crushed in the rematch.
17:13Well, I've said it before.
17:13You know how I feel about Boogaloo Watts.
17:15In his day, one of the premier boxers.
17:17And I'll tell you what.
17:18I saw him give boxing lessons to many a man,
17:20including a good friend of mine named Mario Rosa,
17:22at the Garden of Heat.
17:24Good box.
17:25Well, terrific action of the first round.
17:27Round two.
17:29Round one was as close to an even round as you want to get.
17:32I think Antoine Echols outwarked Brewer just a little bit more,
17:36a few more shots, a little more aggressive.
17:38He gave the round by the slightest of margins to Echols.
17:41What about the power punches, Bobby?
17:44Power punches are good,
17:45but I don't know if Brewer landed enough to offset the scoring
17:48because Echols threw a few of his own.
17:51Brewer coming back with a left hook off the head there
17:54and a right hand and down goes Echols.
17:57There's the power shot.
17:59A right to the head.
18:02Five, six, seven, eight.
18:04Echols complaining as he gets up.
18:07Come here.
18:07Come here.
18:08All right.
18:08He was complaining, I'm not sure about what.
18:10That right hand was as clean as the day is long.
18:13And Brewer looking to finish it here in the second.
18:20Feverishly attacking.
18:21Echols is not starting right now.
18:23He's not waiting.
18:23Oh, what a left hand by Brewer.
18:25Right, right.
18:27Brewer would be very accurate with these punches.
18:31And a left uppercut, a left hook,
18:32and down goes Echols for the second time.
18:36Halfway through the second.
18:37He's got a lot of time to survive here.
18:40Seven, eight.
18:42You all right?
18:42Come here.
18:43Walk to me.
18:43Walk to me.
18:44No three knockdown rule.
18:46Well, he's got a lot of time to survive.
18:48A minute's an eternity in this situation.
18:50Back comes Brewer.
18:51Oh, wait, break.
18:53Michael Ortega with his hands full.
18:57Telling Echols not to grab.
19:01Well, the step up to super middleweight here by Echols
19:05may be proving costly.
19:07Well, I'll tell you what.
19:08A big call to super middle.
19:09It hits like this.
19:10You can show you've got to have a big chin.
19:11You're not going to be able to go the distance.
19:14Brewer has had Echols down two times here in the second round.
19:22Echols gainly fighting back.
19:24Echols has a little pop of his own,
19:26but right now his feet aren't under him.
19:27You can't derive any power from being off balance.
19:30Echols very wobbly.
19:32Ortega looking very closely at this.
19:35I'll tell you what.
19:35He's close to stopping it, Steve.
19:37All Echols has to do is hold on for another 10 or 12 seconds.
19:40He might stand the storm.
19:42He has 18 more seconds, Echols.
19:45Can he make it through this storm of Charles Brewer?
19:50Brewer with a left and a right hand.
19:52Watch your head.
19:53Watch your head.
19:53Get him out.
19:54Watch your head.
19:58Oh, big left just before the bell.
20:01Fighter cannot be saved by the bell any round.
20:05Five, six, seven, eight.
20:09You all right?
20:09Come here.
20:10Walk to me.
20:11All right.
20:12That's it.
20:14And there's the bell.
20:16What an awful round for Antoine Echols down three times.
20:20Let the doctor in there.
20:21Let the doctor in.
20:22He's all right.
20:23He's all right.
20:23He's okay.
20:24I'm all right.
20:25He's okay.
20:26All right.
20:27Well, well, well.
20:27Listen, you've got to punch.
20:29This guy's on a roll now.
20:31You're going to have to punch to keep him off you.
20:32All right?
20:33Stiff jab.
20:34Stab him with the jab.
20:35And you've got to come back with a right hand and hook.
20:37No, don't just jab and stick and move.
20:39You're going to have to hold your own and punch with this guy.
20:41All right?
20:42All right?
20:43Breathe.
20:43Breathe.
20:44It's okay.
20:45You weathered the storm.
20:46The storm's over.
20:46We've got him three.
20:47Count him three different knockdowns in this round.
20:49One is just a pure, crisp right hand.
20:52Right over the down jab.
20:55Playing around will get you in trouble every time.
20:57There it is.
20:58Right over the jab.
20:58Clean as a whistle.
21:01Here, a nice left uppercut and a left hook.
21:03Second knockdown.
21:04He goes right to the canvas.
21:07And the last one again.
21:08He comes in, leaping in with that left uppercut.
21:10A left hook behind it.
21:12Down to all fours.
21:14Those ankles.
21:14He's in serious trouble.
21:15He is getting annihilated as we enter round three.
21:19Those were vicious knockdowns in which he was short-circuited on each occasion.
21:25And Brewer goes right back to work.
21:27Brewer did something I like and I liked to do when I was younger.
21:30The man was hurting around before.
21:31Test him.
21:32See how much he recovered in that minute.
21:35Eckles' nickname is Kid Dynamite, but he got blown up in that last round.
21:39He sure did.
21:41And he caught Brewer and he got Brewer.
21:44Eckles all over Brewer.
21:46But Eckles goes flying to the canvas.
21:48The referee.
21:49It's a knockdown against Brewer, not Eckles.
21:53Brewer's was held up in the ropes.
21:55They called it a knockdown.
21:57One of the strangest things we've seen.
22:00Hey, come here.
22:00Come to me.
22:01You all right?
22:02The referee went to separate him.
22:03Almost like he did with Hopkins and he pushed him down.
22:06Brewer said, I'm cool to Ortega.
22:08Now Brewer's in trouble.
22:10Off that left hook.
22:12What a recovery by Eckles.
22:15And I'll tell you what.
22:16The Brewer's is still a heavier puncher here.
22:22Oh, my goodness.
22:24A roundhouse right by Eckles and Brewer stumbling around.
22:29Brewer's isn't...
22:30This is amazing.
22:33Talk about a street fight.
22:36Brewer, it's being stopped.
22:38Eckles, who was down three times in the last round, wins the fight.
22:43And Brewer is in disbelief.
22:45You got to question it, the referee.
22:48Stopped it that quick after Eckles was all but out.
22:53That was a little quick considering he let another fighter go down three times and get in trouble four.
22:58And you can hear the crowd's reaction.
23:00They think it was too quick.
23:04Eckles' family celebrates.
23:08What an amazing, dramatic turnaround after Eckles was down three times in the second.
23:14He comes back to stop Brewer in the third.
23:17Is that the battle of chins or the battle of the lack thereof?
23:21Every punch seemed to hurt everybody.
23:23And this crowd is upset at what they think is an early stoppage by referee Michael Ortega.
23:33You're going to have to be somewhat realistic, Steve.
23:36After two, the one knockdown and a big staggering.
23:39He stops it where Eckles was down three times on the floor and staggered once or twice in between.
23:45That's five in troubles compared to two.
23:49And two became a stoppage as opposed to the five previous rounds.
23:52So it does look a little odd.
23:56What a stirring turnaround for this man, Antoine Echols.
24:05And speaking of dramatic stuff, check this out again.
24:09Well, watch what happens here.
24:11He hurts Brewer on the inside with a punch right there.
24:14You see Brewer's legs get a little funny.
24:18Now he hits him.
24:19And the referee calls this a knockdown right here because the refs hold him up.
24:23He calls it a knockdown.
24:24But the referee pushes him all the way to the canvas and turns him around face first.
24:29And he almost nailed the ref with a left hook.
24:33Now here comes a big right hand where Eckles just whips one over the top.
24:36And here goes Brewer again in trouble.
24:38Now I think the difference may be that Echols went to the floor every time.
24:42Watch what happens to Brewer.
24:43He goes up against the ropes, tries to hold on.
24:46Here the referee's going to break them.
24:49But Brewer goes back to the ropes and his head gets stuck up in the air getting punched.
24:53One, two, three, four.
24:56And he doesn't go to the ground.
24:57But I'll tell you what, that's a quick stoppage.
24:59I don't care what anyone says, that's a quick stoppage compared to three full knockdowns
25:04that some of the punishment Echols took in the round before.
25:07They're going to let Echols go down three times.
25:09I think they would deserve a bit of a break there.
25:12He went down 55 seconds into the second, a minute 32, and then 2.57 of the second round.
25:20And then he put Brewer down, although the ropes saved him, 30 seconds into round three.
25:24Although Echols went flying to the canvas after being pushed inadvertently by the referee.
25:29And the end came at unofficially 1.21 of round three.
25:34Let's get the official word from Jimmy Landon Jr.
25:39Ladies and gentlemen, we have the time of one minute, 21 seconds in round number three.
25:45Our referee in charge, Michael Ortega stops the contest.
25:49The winner by way of technical knockout and the new NABA super middleweight champion,
25:56Kid Dynamite, Antoine Echols.
26:02Well, Bobby, the action was so fierce that the fans wanted to see more.
26:08From a trainer's perspective, this is a defensive nightmare.
26:12Every punch thrown almost landed, and every punch that landed caused damage.
26:20This should be some interesting post-fight reaction coming up momentarily as Tim Smith gathers the troops up in the
26:27ring.
26:28More than anything, I want to hear the referee's explanation for allowing a fighter to be down three times.
26:32And just, it's not even two knockdowns for the second guy.
26:34He got in a little bit of trouble, and he stopped.
26:37He jumped in pretty quick.
26:39Well, they're going at it again.
26:40Let's go to Tim Smith.
26:41Guys, there's chaos in the ring.
26:43I don't know if we can get these two guys together, because they're very angry.
26:47Their corners are very angry at each other.
26:50And let's go over to Brewer.
26:52Let's get Brewer first.
26:54Charles, let's get you in here first, because you're really upset right now.
26:58But, and I, it was a chaotic situation.
27:03You had him down three times in the first round.
27:05The referee did not stop it.
27:08He knocks me down.
27:09I get up, my head is very clear.
27:12All of a sudden, he jumps and wants to give me a counter and call a fight off.
27:14What the hell is that?
27:16Come on.
27:16And in the second round, how much trouble were you in?
27:20I wasn't in a whole lot of trouble.
27:21I was in the process of clearing my head and getting back into the fight.
27:23And then all of a sudden, this chaos.
27:25Okay, we're going to show you the second round right here.
27:26I want you to walk me through what was actually going on, and what you saw, and what was happening.
27:35I got caught with a counter right.
27:37And then it was a good shot.
27:38It caught me clean.
27:39But I was in the process of clearing my head.
27:42Where's my head?
27:43Tying him up.
27:43So I get myself regrouped.
27:49So you're clear-headed here.
27:51And then you're taking another shot.
27:52Okay.
27:53But I'm not out of it.
27:54I'm not nowhere near out of it.
27:55Look at this.
27:56I'm nowhere near out of it.
27:57What is that?
28:03So, now you always talked about going to Germany and getting ripped off in Germany in terms
28:10of poor decisions.
28:11How does this rate in terms of your experience with politics?
28:15To have this happen, on my home turf, I feel as though it's a disgrace to boxing again.
28:20It's a clear disgrace to boxing again.
28:22I wasn't out on my feet.
28:23By no means, way, shape, or form.
28:25I was out on my feet at all.
28:26Would you like to do this again with him?
28:28I don't think he wants to do it again.
28:30And so the truth, I'd tear his ass up in a minute.
28:32But I don't think he wants to do this again.
28:34Okay.
28:35It certainly was a very, very controversial fight.
28:38And we're going to walk over now and talk to Antoine Echols, who won the fight.
28:47Now, there were two, there were three knockdowns in the second round that you survived.
28:53The referee did not stop it in the second round.
28:57So Brewer is obviously upset about that.
29:00How hurt were you in the second round, and how did you recover?
29:03I got on my feet, so that proves the point that I was all right.
29:08He came back and knocked him out.
29:09That's what a true champion does.
29:11Now, did you think that he was out of it in the third round?
29:15I mean, did you think that he was so hurt that the fight should have been stopped in the third
29:18round?
29:18If you don't respond, you're hurt.
29:21I had him hurt over there.
29:22I thought the referee was going to stop it.
29:24Okay, okay.
29:24Let's look at the monitor right now, and you describe what's going on here.
29:30That was that uppercut that set up.
29:32I hurt him with the uppercut.
29:34And before that, the referee was going to stop it, and he didn't.
29:38So I continued with the uppercuts and the overhand rights.
29:41Now, do you think that this was a fair decision by the referee to stop it?
29:47I do, because I kept putting on a punishment.
29:49I'm too strong for Charles right now.
29:51I trained six hard weeks.
29:52I had Winky Wright and Santiago San Diego up there.
29:55They're just putting it on me for six weeks with Jimmy Williams.
29:59I'd also like to thank my new trainer, Dan Birmingham, for getting me in shape.
30:04Right.
30:04Now, stepping up to 168 pounds, apparently not a big problem for you.
30:09Are you comfortable here, comfortable enough to stay here?
30:12Hey, I'm comfortable enough to stay here, but if I get a big payday down at 160 to go
30:19at Trinidad or somebody other like that, I will do that.
30:22But hopefully Trinidad comes up to 168.
30:24I believe he is.
30:25We even take a Roy Jones.
30:27Now, would you want to fight Brewer again at 168 pounds because this was a very, very
30:31controversial ending?
30:33I have nothing to prove.
30:34We had our fight, and I knocked him out.
30:36I have nothing to prove.
30:37So in your mind, no rematch?
30:39No rematch.
30:41We want Cal Zagy.
30:43We want Cal Zagy for the WBO title.
30:45Yes, we do for the WBO title.
30:47He's the best out there.
30:48That's what we want.
30:48I mean, I proved my point.
30:50I took the fight, and now I want my just dues, you know.
30:54I feel I deserve it.
30:56Okay, congratulations.
30:58Thank you, Showtime.
30:59Let's get it over to the referee, Michael Ortega.
31:02He's the man who made the decision, and he's being thanked right now by Antoine Echols.
31:07What did you see in the third round that made you decide that Brewer was in trouble as opposed
31:14to the second round when there were three knockdowns when Echols was in trouble?
31:18Well, when Echols was in trouble, he got up all three times.
31:22I checked his eyes.
31:23He looked very good.
31:24I thought he was still in the fight.
31:25Okay, when Brewer went into the corner here, it looked to me like he was hurt, almost lost
31:30his mouthpiece.
31:31He was basically saved by the ropes.
31:34So I called that as a knockdown because, in my opinion, the ropes weren't there.
31:39He would have went through those ropes.
31:40Okay, now we're going to show you on the monitor what happened in the third round, and you just
31:44sort of walk me through what you're seeing here.
31:52Okay, I'm trying to see if this is the first time he goes into the ropes and hurt.
31:57This is the stoppage.
31:58The stoppage?
31:59Okay, right here.
32:00He gets hit three, four times in a row.
32:04You can see he's still wobbling.
32:06But you didn't really give him an opportunity to take a count or anything.
32:10There is no mandatory eight count in ABC rules.
32:14Okay, basically, he knew where the ropes were.
32:17The ropes were behind him.
32:18Okay, he took several shots right to the head, and, you know, it looked to me like, you know,
32:25he wasn't protecting himself.
32:26And as you can see, even when I jumped in to stop the fight, he's still wobbling.
32:31He's still up.
32:31But it looked like, it sort of, it looked like to me that he was protecting himself, and
32:36he was defending himself.
32:37Even when you stepped in to stop it, it looked like he was defending himself.
32:42So, you know, putting your hands up is one thing.
32:45Defending yourself is another.
32:46But, I mean, that's the way you see it.
32:48I see it, you know, and I'm a lot closer than you.
32:51And, you know, as far as I'm concerned, I thought he was very hurt.
32:55And, you know, I had to do something.
32:57I couldn't give him a standing eight.
32:59And I had to jump in.
33:01So, you know, that was my decision on that.
33:04So, you're clear on, in your mind, that it was a good stoppage.
33:08Absolutely.
33:09Absolutely.
33:10I have no question.
33:11If I had to do it all over, exact same way.
33:13Okay.
33:14Well, a very, very bizarre ending to a fight when both fighters were hurt.
33:19The comeback trail for both fighters, Steve.
33:21And it looks like Brewer has hit a fork in the road that's not going the way that he wanted.
33:26It looks like Antoine Echols is going on the up and up.
33:32It looks like Antoine Echols is going on the up and up.
33:36All right, Tim, thanks very much.
33:38Give Tim Smith hazard pay.
33:40But I'll tell you, Michael Ortega, the ref, is right about the rules.
33:45The unified rules, no standing eight count.
33:47So, the Brewer camp, which was screaming for a standing eight count,
33:50it is illegal to proceed with a standing eight count here.
33:53But, by the same token, Ortega coming under heavy criticism for stopping the fight that soon.
34:01Let's take a listen.
34:07Now, here's the action before the end.
34:10Break, let him out!
34:11Step back, step back, step back!
34:12Brewer gets you in a nice uppercut right here.
34:14Watch it.
34:14Take his head off.
34:15There it is.
34:16Nothing else really landed clean.
34:18Everything else hit gloves.
34:19So, it was one good clean shot and a whole lot of partial, partial.
34:24Well, no eight count is given here because that would be considered a standing eight count
34:28unless he construed, as he did in the first knockdown,
34:31that the ropes kept him from going down, that being a knockdown.
34:35I think what people have an argument with here is back in the second round,
34:40and Tim Smith pointed this out,
34:42Echols was down three times, which doesn't happen very often in a fight,
34:47and he didn't stop the fight.
34:49But here, Brewer...
34:51Wasn't even completely down twice.
34:53Wasn't even really down twice.
34:54He was in some difficulty, obviously, there.
34:57Of course, Ortega is closer to the situation than we are.
35:00He's closer, and the justification in his eyes
35:02is that he looked into the eyes of the fighter,
35:05and he thought the fighter was hurt beyond what the other fighter was hurt,
35:09and that's completely his discretion, which is difficult.
35:12So, a questionable move there by referee Michael Ortega.
35:16The fans here at Uncas Pavilion in Mohegan Sun did not agree with it.
35:20Let's see how the scoring went for Brewer versus Echols
35:23to the point where it was stopped.
35:25There's the official judges' scorecards.
35:27I think they had that second round, all three of them, 10-6.
35:30I agree.
35:31I had a 19-6, you know, I gave the first round to Echols.
35:34In favor of Brewer, of course, and there it is.
35:36Brewer ahead on all three scorecards.
35:38Here's the press row scoring, Bernard Fernandez, George Kimball, Terry Price
35:44through two rounds, and they had Brewer ahead in all the scorecards there.
35:52And the folks at home, the online scoring, had it even.
35:57Not a surprise.
35:58Yeah.
35:59Even in rounds, but not in points.
36:00And if you took part of the online voting,
36:02we thank you for your participation.
36:04Wild main event.
36:06Looking ahead, here's what's coming up in the near future.
36:08On Showtime Championship Boxing.
36:11On Saturday, June 23rd, WBA and WBC 140-pound champion Kostya Zhu
36:17and IBF 140-pound champ Zab Judah make their mandatory title defenses
36:22en route to their highly anticipated unification bout this fall.
36:26The hard-hitting Zhu faces undefeated number one contender, Octay Urkel.
36:30The slick Zab Judah takes on number one contender, Alan Vester.
36:34Catch this exciting championship doubleheader Saturday, June 23rd
36:38at 10 p.m. Eastern and Pacific, only on Showtime.
36:45Okay, one last time.
36:47Your opinion of the stoppage tonight, Eccles over Brewer.
36:50A little too, a little too quick.
36:52I think if the referee's going to let Eccles be dropped,
36:55fully completely dropped three times and allow him to continue,
36:58he's got to give Brewer the same benefit of the doubt.
37:00No more, but certainly no less.
37:02And earlier tonight, we saw a lot of young prospects, former Olympians.
37:07First, let's talk about Jeff Lacey, who we just heard broke his left hand
37:11in that first-round knockout.
37:13One of the terrible problems with tremendous punches
37:15is that sometimes the hands don't hold up.
37:17I also know I've broken knuckles and I've had reconstruction surgery.
37:21It happens.
37:22You know, I thought something might be amiss because they said,
37:25don't hit him on top of the head with your left hand.
37:27I heard some of that instruction coming from the corner of Jeff Lacey,
37:32so they must have known something was up.
37:33Well, you know what's funny, too,
37:34because the top of your head is actually the softest part of the head.
37:36You're not supposed to hit him in the forehead.
37:38That's the hard part where you can break your hand,
37:39which I've done three times.
37:40But on top of the head, you'll hurt him more than you'll hurt the hand, trust me.
37:43And how about Panchito Bajardo, who looked very impressive?
37:46You know, perfect is a funny word to throw anybody's way,
37:49but the kid shows no flaws yet.
37:51Obviously, the competition level is not that stringent.
37:53I want to see him step up and see what happens.
37:55But, you know, he's just a teenager. He's a kid.
37:57He looks great.
37:59And back to the main event, I tell you,
38:02Charles Brewer deserves a rematch here after what happened.
38:05Brewer probably said it best when he said,
38:07well, I'm not going to use the phrase he used,
38:09but he said he doesn't want to fight me again.
38:10He won't fight me again.
38:11And I think Antoine Echols reiterated that exact same thought.
38:14He doesn't want to fight him again.
38:16It's a tough fight for Echols.
38:18Excuse me.
38:18And I don't think the outcome would be the same,
38:21although we talked about it earlier.
38:22When you don't have a great chin, anything's possible.
38:24Thank you for cleaning that up for the family audience.
38:26How about Echols versus Calzaghe?
38:30Just for fun, how might you handicap that matchup?
38:33I think especially at 168, Echols is not going to have enough to beat Calzaghe.
38:37I think his speed factor is going to be huge.
38:39And Calzaghe is very quick.
38:41He's also a southpaw.
38:42And, you know, Echols didn't show me a great super middleweight chin tonight.
38:45And I really take Calzaghe by KO.
38:47All right, let's take a look at tonight's results from Mohegan Sun.
38:51A final recap in our opening battle.
38:53We'll be back in our opening battle.
38:57Acaso hay discriminación, Iván, por favor.
38:59De ninguna manera.
39:00De ninguna manera.
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