Tony Harrison KOs Grady Brewer At Detroit Masonic Temple

Tony Harrison photos by Gautham Nagesh for StiffJab.com

by Gautham Nagesh 

We could be entering a golden age at 154 lbs., where there is currently an abundance of excellent young prospects. But when all is said and done, Detroit’s Tony “Superbad” Harrison might be the best of the bunch. The late Emmanuel Steward told me many times that Harrison would be special one day. A few months after Steward’s passing, Superbad seems on track to proving his late trainer and the patron saint of Motown boxing correct.

Harrison demolished veteran gatekeeper Grady Brewer on Friday night in front of a packed house at Detroit Masonic Temple. After a heated weigh-in, both fighters threw strategy aside and went right at each other from the outset. Brewer held his own at first, but Harrison soon turned the tide, flooring Brewer five times en route to a second-round knockout. It was an astonishing display of raw aggression and willpower, channeled through Harrison’s superlative skills.

“I felt my performance was solid. I weathered the storm,” Harrison, 23, told Stiff Jab on Saturday in a phone interview. “I took out an experienced, seasoned veteran in two rounds, something no one has done in his career.”

The untelevised card from Kaltas Productions may have done little to enhance Harrison’s national profile, but it appears to have won over his hometown. Tony Harrison is the real deal, and ready to bring boxing back to Detroit in a big way. As with anything from Michigan, it will doubtless take the broader public a while to catch on. It doesn’t really matter, because our state’s exports tends to handle the big stage with aplomb once they finally get their shot at the bi-coastal elite.[[MORE]]

The action began heating up at Thursday’s weigh-in, where a video posted on Facebook showed Harrison and Brewer jawing at each other in earnest. Brewer promised to come straight at Harrison and take out the unproven youngster in the first round. Like any real Detroiter, Harrison felt he had to respond in kind, and vowed to meet Brewer in the center of the ring.

“The game plan went out the window at the weigh-in, I’m going to be honest,” Harrison admitted. “All the strategy was put aside. It was real intense, I felt like I had to make a statement.”

Brewer stayed true to his word and pressured Harrison early with his jab, but neither fighter looked willing to give an inch. Brewer struck first with right hands and uppercuts to the body, but Harrison simply covered up and kept coming forward. A series of right uppercuts appeared to rock Tony and sent him back into the ropes, where Brewer swarmed and tried to end the fight early.

“I don’t go in trying to stand toe-to-toe, that’s not boxing. I think it was just my emotions. If you had seen the crowd last night, it was jam-packed,” Harrison said.

Tony managed to withstand Brewer’s early attack without sustaining serious damage. Soon after, Brewer dove in after a break and Harrison caught him with a quick left hook, which briefly stunned Brewer and left him open for a hard right-left combination.

“I think he got too overly aggressive. The shot that hurt him was a check hook. He hit me with a right hand and I hit him with a short check hook,” Harrison said. “He buckled, I saw he was hurt and thought, let me get him with the pressure.”

Harrison’s combination forced Brewer into the ropes, where the veteran ate punches for what seemed liked forever before a final clubbing right to the side of his head forced him to the mat. Brewer grabbed the ropes and hauled himself upward, but Harrison was all over him immediately, forcing Brewer back into the corner to score a second knockdown.

Brewer was saved by the bell in round one, and came out fighting again to start the second. But Harrison controlled Brewer with his long jab, then sent him down a third time with a straight right hand. Brewer seemed OK when he rose, aided by an extra break while his corner re-taped his glove. Harrison waited patiently, then went straight back to stalking his opponent with the jab. Brewer fought back gamely for a spell, until Harrison sent his mouthpiece flying with another perfect right hand.

Brewer rose for the fourth time, but he was still talking to the ref when Harrison attacked. Harrison’s flurry floored Brewer again, and he rose for the final time. When the action re-started, Brewer looked tentative and desperate. A final right from Harrison smacked Brewer on the brow, then a left hook sent him cascading across the ring. The referee stepped in to wave it off, having seen enough.

Harrison admitted later that the emotions of the crowd and the event had thrown him off his game and forced him to stand and trade. YouTube videos of the fight convey some sense of what must have been an electric atmosphere.

“They had to turn away 500 people it was so packed. It was just my emotions, fighting in my city, and my city came out. That just took over,” Harrison said. “Something in me, I was feeling good, I just wanted to represent my city in the best way possible.”

It has been a difficult winter for Harrison, since losing his mentor Steward in October. Harrison was just the latest fighter that Steward compared to his prize pupil Tommy Hearns, but with Tony’s Detroit roots and long, lanky puncher’s frame, you could tell the old sage meant it this time.

“It’s been an emotional roller coaster. After he passed, for a couple months I just didn’t know what I was gonna do,” Harrison confessed. “I was confused, I didn’t know where I would go or where I would be.”

Into that breach stepped the folks at Kaltas Productions, who promised to put enough money behind Harrison to build him into a homegrown star, fulfilling Steward’s vision. Harrison agreed, and with a handshake agreement the group went about first keeping Harrison busy, then finding him credible fights to build his reputation.

“It was emotional, now I’m mentally back. Emmanuel’s passing wasn’t sad, it’s life,” Harrison said. “The life didn’t die, it’s still in me, still in that atmosphere, still in Detroit.”

These days Harrison is back in the hands of his capable father, who trains him. Boxing runs deep in Tony’s blood, as he is the grandson of legendary Detroit pugilist Henry Hank, who Steward told me was his favorite fighter as a youth. Harrison remains a free agent, so he is ready to take advantage of whatever national TV opportunities come his way.

But in the meantime, his team is focused on finding the right opponents to continue his growth, and on continuing its efforts to rebuild pro boxing in Detroit.

“When was the last time you saw a Detroit fight that packed?” he asked. “If I had my choice, I’d fight in Detroit every time.”