US Lone Wolf Rob Brant Counting Down To WBSS Opener Against Braehmer

The opening round of the World Boxig Super Series is getting to the finish line, with a cruiserweight tango taking place Saturday and the final 168 scrap unfolding the week after.

So far, it’s been so good…

Robert Brant of Minnesota, now living and fighting out of Texas, under the gaze of 2017 frontrunner for trainer of the year Derrick James, will fight Juergen Braehmer. I see him as the favorite, with the older man coming down a weight class, which I think could drain his energy.

Brant (22-0, 15 KOs) fights Braehmer (48-3, 35 KOs) in their Ali Trophy quarter-final clash in Schwerin, Germany.

Brant is not widely known in the US but his profile and bank statements heat up if he beats Braehmer and advances in the tourney.

Here is some info on Brant, where he came from to get here and how he sees his Oct. 28 clash:

—“I found boxing when I was fifteen, and I started going to the gym every once in a while. I thought my father would be upset because my father played football, my brother played football and basketball so I went a bit off the beaten path when I discovered boxing. But my father was completely cool with it. He wanted me to stay focused at something other than sitting at the house. From that point I started focusing on boxing.

—“I am a very simple person. I feel that I have much more that I could ask for in life. My dream is to accomplish the things I want to accomplish. I want to be the best in the world and make the maximum amount of money, but I box because I love to box.

—“Juergen Braehmer is a veteran. He is a very good fighter. He has been in the game for so long. I am not going to be able to do anything in there that he has not seen before. This guy will not take 15-20 nervous pisses before going to the fight. He has done everything before and that has to be respected, but let us see if I can put some doubt in him. I want to beat him in every round. I want to treat every round as a fight in itself. I just have to be better and more than prepared than Braehmer.

—“I feel I am an underdog to win this tournament, but for every fight my odds will get better. After I beat Braehmer – and I am very confident I will beat Braehmer – I will move on to the next level. I am confident that I will win the entire tournament.

—“I always told myself when I started boxing: “At 27 I want to fight for a title, but I want to take my time and learn to be a pro.” I was a phenomenal point system fighter, and I have a decent amount of professional experience that will carry me in to these big fights with these gentlemen. I don’t care who they fought. They never fought me.”

Oh, and check out this quote from trainer James, from the fight week leading to the Oct. 14 Barclays Center card that saw James’ Jermell Charlo stealing the show and the O from Erickson Lubin:

“Brant’s gotta knock him out,” James told me at the famed and fabled Gleason’s Gym. “I think he knows that, he knows that. Fighting in Germany, you gotta knock him out. You will not win in Germany. Schwerin, Germany is the most racist city in Germany.”

Hey now…

Brant seems a nice guy, he wasn’t going to go there, but James isn’t playin…

Let’s see if the fighter listens and follows orders. It might be wise…we know what happens to “nice guys.”