Brinkley gets his break

(Editor's note: This is the second of a two-part story on Yerington's Jesse Brinkley, who is one of two Northern Nevadans on the NBC reality series "The Contender.")

It's unknown whether or not Jesse Brinkley has read Sun Tzu's "The Art of War," but it's evident after watching Sunday's episode of "The Contender" that Brinkley has learned there's more than one way to defeat an opponent.

Along with Reno's Joey Gilbert (who is also Brinkley's agent) and Peter Manfredo Jr., Brinkley formed an alliance to get rid of fellow contender Ishe Smith, whose volatile ways had rankled several others on the set.

Brinkley finished first in navigating an obstacle course competition and won the right to either fight whom he wanted or play matchmaker. Brinkley took the latter route and paired Smith with Sergio Mora, who knocked Smith off the show with a five-round decision.

It turned out to be a shrewd move for Brinkley, who's learned to do whatever's necessary to get a shot at the big time. Ever since he turned pro with a first-round TKO of Koji Kotera in 1997, Brinkley had toiled in relative obscurity while building up his record of 24-1, with 16 knockouts.

Even though Top Rank promoted several of his fights, most of which have been in Reno, Brinkley was never paired with a big name opponent. He received the most exposure in August 2003, when he won a 10-round decision over former welterweight title challenger Danny Perez, a bout that was televised on ESPN2 Friday Night Fights from Stodick Park in Gardnerville.

The reason Top Rank never chose to sign him, said the 28-year-old Brinkley, is demographics.

"Top Rank is signing only Hispanics and Olympians," Brinkley said Friday from the law offices of Gilbert & Schopper, LLP. "I guess that's what sells. The Hispanics get behind their fighters till the end. With 'The Contender,' I finally got a chance to fight.

"The way they (big promoters) work is they wait until you're old and beat up and injured before you get your shot. It was a big game. They don't want to see their money guy lose. They're the guys that are putting food in their mouths. Me and Joey have a chance of upsetting their champs."

With "The Contender," Brinkley's stock has risen. He helped his cause by calling out his most significant opponent to date, Jonathan Reid, who was 33-1 and had unsuccessfully challenged William Joppy in 2000 for his WBA middleweight title.

"In Jonathan Reid, I picked a good fighter," Brinkley said. "I'd heard of his name. He fought Joppy for the world championship. It turned me on. I was so excited. I thought, 'You can be as confident as you want, but there's no way you can beat me.'"

Brinkley said the fight was edited to make it look closer than it was.

"I played with (Reid)," Brinkley said. "(The fight) wasn't going back and forth. I gave him the first round because I respected him. He never hit me one shot that convincingly had me hurt. I knew he couldn't hurt me and I won every round. I dictated when we traded. I should've knocked him out."

Brinkley said the show's five-round bouts aren't conducive for boxers who like to take their time to set up their opponents.

"Five rounds favors amateur fighters," Brinkley said. "It favors the 'sprinters' of the boxing world. It doesn't favor myself. I like to take them out to deep water and drown them. I take their shots and let them wear out their hands on my head. I go to the body for seven, eight, nine rounds and they go to sleep."

Brinkley feels his new notoriety should help bring him bigger fights at the conclusion of the series.

"I still crave an HBO fight. I want it so bad I can taste it," Brinkley said. "I want to fight Fernando Vargas on HBO. Where are you, Fernando Vargas? Come out and fight me.

Mentally I'm at the level now where it's going to take a big punch to put me down and out - or a strong work ethic."

Brinkley said there's now another marquee name he might eventually face.

"I believe after the show is over and done with, Joey and I should get together up here and put a show on," Brinkley said. "People will come out, fans of sports and our fans. We should pack a house easy - 10,000 people at the Hilton or somewhere."

Brinkley said he and Gilbert have the discussed the bout and that it makes sense.

"Reno demands we fight each other," Brinkley said. "We accept it. It's a huge possibility. It's going to cost them (promoters) a bit of money for us to battle each other, though."

If he fights Gilbert, Brinkley said he'll get to do what most clients only wish they can.

"I get to punch my lawyer in the face," Brinkley said with a laugh. "But the thing is he'll be hitting me back. He's a good guy and I enjoy working with him. I can fire him, but he can't fire me. He got the raw end of the penmanship on that (contract)."

No matter how well he does in the ring, Brinkley said he'll never forget where he comes from.

"I'll be loyal to my home (Yerington) till the day they plant me," Brinkley said. "No matter what, that's where my roots are."

n Contact Mike Houser at houser9502@aol.com