1996–2003: Prospect to contender Brewster turned professional in 1996 and was undefeated for his first three years as a pro until losing decisions to
Clifford Etienne and
Charles Shufford in 2000.
2004–2005: WBO heavyweight champion and title defenses On April 10, 2004, Brewster faced
Wladimir Klitschko in a fight for the vacant
World Boxing Organization championship that had been vacated by
Corrie Sanders, who had upset Klitschko by knocking him out in the second round of their fight in 2003, when he decided to challenge
Vitali Klitschko for the
World Boxing Council title vacated when
Lennox Lewis retired. Brewster was dominated in the early going, knocked down once in the fourth round. In the fifth round, Brewster hurt Klitschko with a left hook that forced the Ukrainian fighter to use the ropes to hold himself up, which resulted in a knockdown. As the round ended, Brewster hit Klitschko with a combination of punches that caused him to go down after the bell sounded. Seeing Klitschko struggle to return to his feet, referee Robert Byrd stopped the fight and awarded a technical knockout victory to Brewster. Klitschko claimed foul play resulted in his defeat but an investigation found nothing. For eleven years, Brewster remained the last boxer to defeat Klitschko in the ring, until
Tyson Fury defeated Klitschko in a 2015 heavyweight fight. Brewster remains the second last boxer to knock Klitschko out in a bout, preceding
Anthony Joshua, who won by TKO on the 11th round defeating Wladimir Klitschko on 30 April 2017.
2006–2007: Brewster vs. Liakhovich and Klitschko II Brewster lost his WBO title by unanimous decision on April 1, 2006, to
Sergei Liakhovich from Belarus in an action-packed fight. In an interview following the fight, Brewster said that he could not see with his left eye after the first round. It was later confirmed that he had suffered a detached retina in his left eye and he had to undergo surgery. Lamon Brewster returned to the ring on July 7, 2007, losing his rematch against Wladimir Klitschko after trainer
Buddy McGirt stopped the fight after the sixth round. The fight took place in
Köln (Cologne), Germany, for the
IBF & IBO heavyweight title.
2008–2010: Tail end of career After two tune-up bouts, he was upset by
Gbenga Oloukun by an eight-round points decision. The following year he was stopped by rising contender
Robert Helenius. At one point in his career, Brewster was managed by
The Simpsons co-creator, professional poker player and
philanthropist,
Sam Simon. Later Brewster left Simon and signed with manager
Al Haymon.
Retirement On January 9, 2011, Lamon Brewster officially announced his retirement as a professional boxer. Brewster cited an eye injury from his last fight with Helenius as the reason for this retirement. Further, he indicated that he believes that Helenius tampered with his gloves which caused the resulting injury to Brewster. He underwent four unsuccessful surgeries to restore sight in his left eye. After further surgery, his vision began to improve. ==Personal life==