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Coming of age
It was 11 months ago.
"Last October, I was fighting a tough lefthander named David Uriah Washington at a packed-house Molson Centre," smiled the Calgary boxer, now based in Montreal, who was in town visiting family and friends a few months back, and stopped by to chat. "He was a real tough guy, undefeated, from North Carolina, and I didn't know anything about him.
"And he got to me early, cut my right eye, and my nose. There was a lot of concern in my corner."
Brown came to the crossroads.
In his mind, he could hear his pro career screeching to a halt. His healthy, ongoing rise that started with a move to Las Vegas, then a relocation to Canada to work for Interbox, would be set back years and may never recover.
As it was, it'd be eons before he'd get a sniff at a world title bout, he figured, especially after an effort like this.
Worst of all for new employer Interbox, the knowledgeable Montreal fans would hardly spend a dime on this Brown slug from Calgary who (sacre bleu!) couldn't even beat a replacement fighter.
He was hurting his market value.
The bell rang again, and Brown snapped out of it.
Why was he making this harder on himself?
Why was he beating himself up mentally? Washington was already doing a rather nice job of abusing him physically, thank you very much.
He didn't need this.
So Brown stopped worrying and started fighting.
Inspired, he romped to an eight-round knockout win in a rugged bloodbath, a punch-fest not seen since the days the Habs and Leafs used to brawl at the old Forum.
"After I came back and won, I felt like I owned the city," said Brown, speaking through a faint French accent picked up from living in La Belle Province.
"The crowd was chanting my name, they were so appreciative of my effort, and they were buzzing with excitement at a good, upcoming Canadian putting on a fantastic show.
"It's exactly what I needed.
"The only thing better was if it was in front of a packed house in Calgary."
The 27-year-old raised his record to 18-0-1, but more than the numbers, he opened eyes.
A few months later, Don King offered Brown a shot at Frenchman Fabrice Tiozzo on the Evander Holyfield-Lennox Lewis card, but only gave three weeks notice.
Brown declined.
King offered another shot, but wanted Interbox to waive their promotional rights to Brown.
Again, Brown said no, stating he would be patient, fight on his own terms, no matter how glittery the lure of gold.
"If you're good enough, you'll get your shot," said Brown, the proud Forest Lawn product.
"If I beat everybody and I'm ranked No. 1, they have to give me a mandatory shot sooner or later. They can't avoid me forever.
"But I really want it this year, I feel I'm ready, I'm confident."
He'll get his chance tonight, and Calgarians can catch him if they tune in early enough for the Oscar De La Hoya-Felix Trinidad pay-per-view live from Mandalay Bay Hotel, Las Vegas.
"When I get my shot, I'm not going to waste it," said Brown.
"You never know how many you're going to get, so I'll make the most of it, not take it for granted.
"That, I can guarantee."
It's a little lesson he picked up from David Uriah Washington not that long ago.
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