And New WBO Champion

CLEVELAND, OH - Sergei Liakhovich of Belarus shocked the boxing world by scoring a 12-round unanimous decision over champion Lamon Brewster to capture a piece of the heavyweight championship.

Liakhovich, pushed to the brink in the seventh round - survived to lift Brewster's lightly regarded World Boxing Organization title.

The judges at ringside scored the bout 115-113, 115-112 and 117-110 for Liakhovich, who improved to 23-1 (14 KOs).

"I answered Brewster every time," Liakhovich said. "Then, he felt my power."

Brewster, 32, fell to 33-3 (29 KOs). He had won nine straight fights and was looking to stamp himself as a contender in the jumbled heavyweight division.

Instead, Liakhovich, who was fighting for the first time in 18 months, authored a performance that could lead to his own big payday and put another heavyweight belt in Eastern European hands.

Russian giant Nicolay Valuev owns the World Boxing Association heavyweight crown and Ukrainian Wladimir Klitschko fights April 22 in Germany against US southpaw Chris Byrd, the International Boxing Federation champion.

Add World Boxing Council champion Hasim Rahman's mandatory defence against Kazak fighter Oleg Maskaev to the mix and it's easy to see how the search for a star to follow retired British champion Lennox Lewis could conclude in Europe.

"Brewster was a real great champion," Liakhovich said. "He hits real hard with power and has lots of will. After the fourth round, I knew I was controlling the fight, but Brewster hits like a mule. I felt like I did the right thing when I took a knee at the end of round seven. I almost sent him down twice, too."

Action heated up in the fifth round, with Brewster unleashing a relentless assault that wobbled Liakhovich along the ropes. However, Liakhovich recovered and was able to land several damaging blows in the waning seconds of the round.

The challenger dominated a ferocious sixth, but in the next round, he sank to his knees and took a knockdown under a barrage by Brewster.

In the eighth Liakhovich appeared tired, and it seemed Brewster might begin to turn the fight his way. But the challenger was again on the attack in the ninth, landing a series of punches that nearly sent Brewster to the canvas.

Brewster withstood the barrage, but the re-energized Liakhovich held on through the closing rounds to claim the victory.

"Liakhovich deserved to win," Brewster said. "He earned it. I take my hat off to him. He won and we have a rematch. I cannot wait to do it again. He fought a good fight and is a good fighter. We both deserve to be at the top.

"I stayed on my feet in round nine from sheer will."

Other Heavyweight News

Joe Mesi of Buffalo, NY unanimously outpointed Ronald Bellamy on Saturday night in Puerto Rico in the heavyweight's first fight following a two-year force layoff because of a serious head injury.

"It wasn't my best performance, but I was out of the ring for two years," Mesi said. "I hope to keep getting better as I have more fights... I give myself a C-plus."

All three judges scored the fight 80-72 for Mesi.

John Sands
Midwest Correspondent

Information from other publications and wire services was used in the compilation of this report.