Predictions for Michael Grant/Lennox Lewis

Gods honest truth, i bet him to win in round 1 and round 2. Your right, there was a bit of a buzz at the time as Grant was regarded as somewhat of a prospect then. I felt Lewis was gonna jump on him right away. He was lucky to make it through that 1st round

 

I liked Michael Grant. He didn't deserve to become a punchline in boxing.

But boxing never burned in his soul like the great fighters. He was pretty good, but when he hit that glass ceiling he hit hard and was never the same with his confidence shot.

Think the odds got down to about 5-2 Lewis by fight night. Lots of patriotic belief in the heart of MSG, plus undefeated underdogs usually draw late money. Thought Lewis would get a knockout though, but not that quickly and in such an explosive fight. Thought Grant would try to get rounds in, usually his style and it played to his conditioning.

 

I was suprised Grant made it out of the first round. I didnt think he had a chance in hell. HBO hype machine.
Grant didnt have the experience to fight a fighter like Lennox Lewis, a fighter since he was a child. Grant didnt box enough to have the instincts to fight a fight like Lennox Lewis brought.

Same goes for Rahman, had Lewis fought Rahman the way he fought Grant he would have stopped him just as quickly, and had Lewis fought Grant the way he did Rahman in the first fight, Grant might have had a shot.

Lewis with exception of the first Rahman fight, was very smart as to how to fight certain fighters, and alot of that had to do with Emanuel Steward recognizing the level of skill and experience of Lewis' opponents.

 

One of the rare ones that I made an accurate prediction on,Hydraulix. I had a feeling that Lennox was going for an early night.

 

I picked Lewis by brutal early KO, he's a big devestating bully against fellow Superheavyweights, & Grant's chin was questionable against big punchers, as evidenced by the Golota fight.

 

I never really had any predictions, but I did see Grant's battle with Golata before the Lewis meeting, and to tell you the truth, I think Grant is an underrated win for Lennox. This guy may have been limited in Skill and speed, but he was a very large and strong man, with a lot of heart and coming off a long undefeated string of respectable wins.. Seeing how easily Lewis destroyed him was something to be respected. I can't see Michael Grant beating anyone who was an all time great, but I also can't see too many greats doing to him what Lewis did.

 

Proud to say I never bought the Grant hype and predicted a Lewis demolition in 5.

 

:goodWell said, I agree. I think it gets underrated too, the reason being is that Lennox totally shattered Grants confidence and basically ruined his career. Which is why people then looked at him has not being much after all anyway! But like you say he had good record prior to Lewis and he came from a good camp!
I had Lewis winning in 5.

 

I was sure Lennox would easily stop Grant (maybe not as quickly as he did).

Don't forget that Grant was knocked down twice in the 1st rd by Golota and was losing the fight till Golota quit. And Lewis KO'd Golota easily in 1 rd.

Grant simply couldn't take Lewis' punches and his defence was too poor to avoid them. Lennox was much more skilled and experienced fighter.

 

Grant was showing some glaring flaws leading up to the Lewis fight. Flaws Lewis could easily take advantage of.

 

I figured Grant was tough and probably would take Lewis the distance in a gallant defeat.

 

I agree, and i also remember Lewis was very confident and did'nt think it would be much of a contest.
But what i say about him shattering Grant's confidence and ending his career has top ten fighter is true for me. While Grant was showing flaws, technically and i suppose mentally, i still feel he was top ten material. Due to his size, athleticism and workrate. But the Lewis defeat totally wrecked him mentally, and we know a large part of any sport is mental.

 

I agree completely, but at the same time, I'm not calling Grant an exceptional fighter.. I just think that too many people write him off as a bum or easy title defense for Lewis and I don't think that's true.. For all his short comings, Grant was a large, hard hitting, athletic fighter who showed a lot of guts in many of his fights.. He was also staying very busy, beating respectable foes and had compiled a good record.. I realize that the man was never destined for greatness, but I do think he would have been taken as a serious challenger by a lot of great champions.

 

A Prime Grant would achieve a lot more in the current division, he'd beat Adamek, Chagaev, Chambers, Arreola, Solis, Dimitrenko, Boystov etc.