New Brunswick's top boxer fights for place outside the ring

Brandon (L-Jack) Brewer is hanging up his boxing gloves and setting his sights on success justoutside the ring.

The Fredericton-area boxer is stepping away from his boxing career and opening a new gym in the capital city.

Brewer, who will soon be 33, made his announcement on Facebook.

• Boxer David Whittom suffers traumatic brain injury in Fredericton bout
• Boxer's brain hemorrhage followed fair match, governing group says
• Put your dukes up: Fredericton to host combat sporting events

"I want more but my body doesn't want more right now," he said in an interview with Information Morning Fredericton.

"My heart doesn'twant more."

About three years ago, during his Toronto fight against Junmar Emonin 2015, Brewer felt the first inclinationto step away from the ring.

Although he won the fight, he could feel in his body growing tired.

"I'm stubborn, I can dig in when I need to," he said. "I want to win, I don't want to lose."

Fell in love with boxing

When he first got into the boxing ring, the New Brunswick native wanted to make something of himself.

And he did.

Brewer won aCanadian Professional Boxing Council light middleweight title in 2014, and the next year became theNorth American Boxing Association's light middleweight champion.

He hasheld several boxing matches at the Aitken Centre, bringingmore than 3,500 people into the city.

"I wanted to make something of myself and I wanted to do it through the combat sport," he said.

If you compare myself in the gym sometimes and compare myself in the fight, it's black and white.-Brandon Brewer

Brewer started boxing nine years ago.

From there, he was both an athlete and business person,building his L-Jack Promotions Inc., while also trying to stay involved in the community.

In October, Brewer's company will be hosting an MMA event at theAitkenCentre in Fredericton.

"I think that's been obvious in my last couple fights even though I did pull out the wins," he said in theFacebookpost that has received more than1,000 likes. "I've spread myself too thin. I gave so much into the businesses that we created, so much that playing 'the athlete' part became extremely tiring.

"I could say that it [had] gotten pushed to the side compared to what it once was."

Brewer's latest announcement comes several months after an L-Jack boxing event in Fredericton that sent cruiserweight boxer David Whittom to hospitalwith a brain hemorrhage.

"He's not done at the hospital, he's fighting," said Brewer.

Whittom, 38, lost to Gary Kopas in the 10th round of the fight at the Aitken Centre.

"He was so close," said Brewer, who is friends with Whittom. "It's unfortunate it happened to such a great guy."

What happens next

Brewer said he had a successful boxing career and is comfortable with what he has accomplished over the years. But it all became too much.

"If you compare myself in the gym sometimes and compare myself in the fight, it's black and white," he said.

The local boxer said he needs to build his future and set himself up financially down the road.

"I know I can't box forever so I need to build something that would last forever," he said. "At least that will take me until I'm old."

On social media, he announced that his company will be starting a combat sports training facility to help grow the MMA and boxing community across the province.

Brewer said renovations are already underway at the grounds of theFredericton Capital Exhibit Centre inthe old Winners Lounge by the racetrack.