BREWSTER NOT TAKING MEEHAN LIGHTLY.

Byline: ROBERT MORALES Boxing

Lamon Brewster didn't fight his entire career to become heavyweight champion so he could turn around and lose his belt in his first title defense.

That's why he isn't listening to anyone who says he is going to walk through Kali Meehan when they fight Sept. 4 for Brewster's World Boxing Organization championship at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas.

Meehan is ranked No. 15 to Brewster's belt. Basically, he is a fighter no one outside of his native Australia has heard of. Except for perhaps Brewster.

``Some seem to think that this is going to be an easy fight for me, but I have been in the ring with Kali Meehan (sparring) and I can tell you for sure that this fight is going to be anything but easy,'' said Brewster, who entertained reporters last week at the Broadway Gym in Los Angeles.

``They say in order to be a truly great champion, you have to fight great fighters. But just because only a few have heard of Meehan, does not mean he is not a great fighter.

Believe me, this guy is tough. He is tall, crafty, has heart, a great right hand, speed and can punch.

``So there is no way I am going to underestimate him.''

Wow, sounds like this Meehan is a heck of a fighter. Or Brewster could just be doing his job by helping promote his fight.

Then again, Brewster might be trying to make himself believe Meehan is tough so he doesn't assume victory.

If the latter is the case, Brewster is smart.

``I learned in the amateurs to never take anybody lightly,'' said Brewster, 31, of Los Angeles.

``Back then, I would be told I had an easy fight, and they would turn out to be the toughest.

``That is why I train for all my fights like they are going to be the toughest of my career. And, besides, it is not always the best fighter who wins, but who connects first. Look what happened to Roy Jones Jr. against Antonio Tarver.''

Tarver knocked out Jones in the second round last May 15.

Meehan, 34, is 6-foot-5. He has a record of 29-1 with 23 knockouts, but his list of opponents consists of only one known fighter.

That would be Danny Williams, who beat Meehan via first-round technical knockout on June 9, 2001.

Williams knocked out Mike Tyson in the fourth round July 30, but Tyson had been fighting on a bad knee after tearing it up in the first round.

Either way, Brewster (30-2, 27 KOs) said he is going to treat Meehan like he is the best he has ever faced.

``All you need to know about this guy is how much I respect his talent and ability,'' Brewster said. ``I trained five weeks for Wladimir Klitschko; I will have trained eight weeks for Meehan.''

As Brewster put it, if he loses to Meehan, everyone will forget about his fifth-round knockout of Klitschko that gave him the vacant WBO belt last April 10.

``Not a lot has changed since I beat Klitschko to become WBO champion,'' Brewster said. ``I am getting more attention, and that is nice. But I am making sure I keep an even keel. You are only as good as your last fight, and if I lose, I am sure all the attention that is coming my way will go away in a hurry.''

Showtime will televise the card, which also will feature welterweight champion Cory Spinks in a defense against former lightweight champion Miguel Angel Gonzalez.

--Vargas to return next year: Fernando Vargas, the former junior middleweight champion from Oxnard, has been cleared by his orthopedist (Dr. Steven Waltrip) to resume full training.

Vargas has been battling a bulging disc in his back for some time. He has fought only twice since being stopped in the 11th round by Oscar De La Hoya in September 2002.

Vargas last fought Dec. 12 in Tucson.

He stopped Tony Marshall via seventh-round technical knockout in an outdoor venue in near-freezing temperatures.

Vargas said last week he will begin training immediately, with a plan to return to the ring ``in early 2005.''

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