How was Michael Grant viewed before facing Lewis?

Remember that well. The HW champions had been almost exclusively American since the 1920's a fact which people seem to forget nowadays it just didn't seem right in 2000 that the main man was from outside the US, HBO wanted to correct that and Grant seemed to fit the bill - big, strong, entertaining style and press friendly unlike the PR nightmare that was Tyson and the bore that was Holyfield.
But anyone who saw Grant's performance against Golota and compared it to Lewis' destruction of AG knew Grant had no chance and the pundits in the UK knew it too.

 

At first everyone tried to make him out to be a future heavyweight champion - had the size and the power.
But as he progressed in his career ALOT of HOLES opened up in his game and you begun to see that he wasn't going to be what they thought.

 

I lived in the UK, and in the boxing press he was given a big push.


After Golota/Grant I think the feeling was Lewis was going to be a step too far, but it was going to be very competitive.

 

If there was ever a guy you'd want to look the part of heavyweight champion, Grant was your guy.
An absolute unit of a man.

 

He became a boxer on advice of the ref Richard Steele while he was playing another sport (American football). Grant had power and heart but his fundamentals were never good. Many things in common with Dubois and Wilder.

 

He sure got a lot of love from HBO. Him and Mesi. But HBO likes the guys from the nyc area to save on production costs. A lot cheaper than going to Indianapolis to watch Brewster evolve. Or to pay foreign rights for Klitschko brother fights. So you just went ahead and bought them. Many folks just watch and listened to hbo and showtime and did not bother watching much else.

The other big thing with Grant was all the love for Don Turner at the time. But he had only worked with the old established guys like Holmes and Holyfield. Much much different than trying to polish a diamond with an up and comer. And I sure thought Grant was no diamond anyway with that defense and being that big of a target.

Like lots of the prospects, they look good until facing top 10 competition. that changes a lot of things when not facing the B and C grade guys/fighters going down the mountain. Lots of ideal opponents and certain styles to avoid.


the guy I thought he had a best chance at beating was Valuev. Lewis was always going to land that right hand against this guy's lazy jab and low left hand. Signing with DKP would have helped as well and maybe Grant licks Ruiz. Especially if King gets fully behind the guy and backs him a ton.Not sure about that one---Ruiz could squeck by Grant possibly.

 

The promotional aura around Grant was peculiar and probably quite obvious to the hardcore fans, but casual observers might have genuinely bought into him. Ironically, through the same casual lenses, the Golota fight might well have established a view that Grant was the real deal. (I think Grant truly believed he was the genuine article).

For someone like Lewis, who had found it difficult to gain any kind of significant, positive PR foothold in the US and had perhaps only just recently overcome this predicament with his Holyfield clashes, Grant's image was anathema - a guy being considered as a real fighter, physically bigger than Lewis and a very credible threat, despite having thin credentials.

 

HBO gave Lewis quite a big build up in the early 1990s, especially around the Ruddock win.
I think the Tucker, Bruno and Phil Jackson fights were downers for his image, then he lost to McCall.

 

Michael Grant was a decent prospect and there was little reason to regard him as an imposter up until the Golota fight.
He barely got past Golota, was hurt early and almost taken out.
Not a good sign when being matched with a powerful champion like Lewis, who had taken Golota out in 1.

 

He was a basketball player.

 

Yeah, that's how I remember it.
He was given a big write-up in the Boxing Monthly and Boxing News and was built up as the heir to the American heavyweights in the tabloid boxing columns. The Golota fight made him a clear underdog to Lewis though.

 

Brewster mostly fought in LA and Nevada. He probably wouldve had a lot of hype but he looked bad when he lost to Shufford.

 

Also.
He was a high school standout in three sports (Baseball, Basketball, and Football) and could have probably pursued any of them as a career

 

Lewis destroyed ambitions of many hyped fighters:

Grant
Golota
Tua
Briggs
Rahman
Morrison

Lewis top five ever.

 

Pretty sure Rauman fulfilled his greatest ambition when he knocked out Lewis.