Is Klitschko Starting the Payback's A Bitch Tour?

He did such a job on Calvin Brock that “The Boxing Banker” felt the need to diversify vocationally, and started up an online travel agency. He shredded the Cinderella story that Ray Austin thought he could pull off. And while it would be disrespectful to say that we yawned during these last two fights, no one would argue that beating Brock and Austin did much to polish the legacy Wladimir Klitschko wants to leave behind.

But now we get word that Klitschko will defend his IBF world heavyweight title against Lamon Brewster on July 7 in Cologne, Germany.

Now we're talking.

Now we got a little storyline to mull over.

Now we'll see if the demons of doubt that take residence in your brain after a man has bettered you, has imposed his will upon you, has rendered you helpless in front of your fans, your critics, your big bro, if those demons have been exorcised. Or, if the demons have just been exercising, getting stronger, lying in wait, in the shadows, waiting to pop up and wreak havoc on that iffy chin that used to betray him, but has looked to be reconditioned recently.

We'll have a muuuuch better idea of what sort of legacy Wladimir Klitschko deserves after July 7th.

Klitschko (48-3 with 43 KOs) wanted Valuev, but the Russian lost his WBA title on points to Uzbekistan's Ruslan Chagaev on Saturday.

Bravo to Klitschko, who is signing on the fight a man who bested him on April 4, 2004, in Las Vegas.

Dr. Steelhammer sounded enthused to avenge the second most shocking loss on his resume, as he stated: “This chance for revenge against Lamon Brewster is a dream come true.

“He is without a doubt an extremely dangerous opponent, but I always hoped for a chance to redeem myself.”

Brewster (33-3 with 29 KOs) lost his WBO title on April 1, 2006 to Sergei Liakhovich by a unanimous decision.

The comebacking hitter, who can be a dangerous foe when in proper mental and physical condition, sounds like he's fired up to prove his previous win wasn't a case of dumb luck: “I will knock out Klitschko again, and then no one will be able to say the first win was a fluke.”

In conclusion, two points: 1) Brewster may be labeled as damaged goods going in to this scrap, as he underwent surgery to repair a detached retina in his left eye following the loss to Liakhovich. We have to hope that the eye is fully healed, but I have a feeling that with the laser technology in use today, the eye won't be an issue.  Let's hope “Good Brewster,” who's in tip top shape, shows up 2) If Klitschko slays the demons and Brewster, will he hunt down Corrie Sanders to continue the “Payback's A Bitch 2007 Tour?”

SPEEDBAG Forgive me for being absent over the weekend, but I had a decent excuse. My wife Jessica gave birth to Annabelle Jordan Woods at 3:45 AM on Saturday. Mom's quite the battler–she did the job without any painkillers! A quick scouting report on the bambina–the baby has shown the marvelous ability to sleep for long stretches without a peep. I did notice that when she has to wait for mama to feed her, she balls up her tiny fists. A future fighter? Maybe so, maybe not. I'll try to stay out of her way when it comes to choosing her career path. For now, we are all living in a brand new world of diapers, and feeding, and getting used to the title “Mommy” and “Daddy” and “Annabelle.” So, if you spy the stray typo in the next couple of months, you can probably assume I had feeding duty at 4 AM…