How Lennox Lewis BURIED the 200 kg Giant's Career!
In April 2000, Lennox Lewis was still haunted by the ghost of the former heavyweight champion, Mike Tyson. Despite his numerous impressive victories, doubts about his status lingered in the eyes of some.
And then, a new threat emerged on the horizon - Michael Grant, a massive boxer weighing around 200 kilograms, capable of easily overpowering his opponent. This bout promised to be a clash of titans, a test for Lewis that could either reaffirm his claim to the throne or relegate him to the shadows of past champions.
Today, we will talk about the brutal battle between Lennox Lewis and Michael Grant. A battle that left the boxing world breathless. Because that evening, we witnessed not just another knockout, but one of the most impressive and ruthless knockouts in Lennox Lewis's career.
When they met in the ring at Madison Square Garden on April 29, 2000, Lewis was the reigning heavyweight champion. But Grant was seen in some circles as the heir apparent to the throne.
So, in early 2000, Lewis and his people received a call. It was Michael Grant’s team about a fight, possibly in April 2000, at New York City’s Madison Square Garden—the spectral venue of dubious decisions past.
It’s what led to “Two Big,” the first fight of the supersized era. It set a new standard for combined heights and weights for a heavyweight title fight.
Five months before Grant’s challenge, Lewis had rectified one of the great wrongs in boxing history when he beat Holyfield in their rematch in November 1999.
Lewis put to rest any doubts about who was the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world for the first time in seven years since Riddick Bowe defeated Holyfield in November 1992.
Ironically, Bowe soon lost that distinction when he refused to fight Lewis for the WBC title. Bowe wanted no part of Lewis.
This all set the stage for Michael Grant, trained by Don Turner, Holyfield’s trainer for his two victories over Tyson and his fights against Lewis.
Grant was considered the prototype heavyweight “of the future.” He was large, athletic, with a genial personality and not a lot of wear-and-tear on his body, like most fighters attain through years of sparring and gym wars.