Lennox Lewis had reached his peak, Michael Grant still had a number of amateur traits in his game. Ultimately, this proved to be the big difference in the world heavyweight title fight that took place 20 years ago today. Dubbed “Two Big,” the Lewis Vs. Grant fight took place at Madison Square Garden and the fight saw Lewis make his first defence since defeating Evander Holyfield to become undisputed king.
But boxing being boxing, it wasn’t quite so simple. Lewis had refused to defend his WBA belt against Don King fighter John Ruiz, King went to court, and Lewis was stripped of the belt. Not too many fans cared; Lewis was still THE champ. But Grant was seen by many as the next big thing, the next American star heavyweight. Unbeaten at 31-0, the tall, athletic and powerful 27 year old had graced the front cover of many a boxing magazine and some experts felt Grant would indeed rise to the top. Lewis had other, more painful ideas.
Grant had struggled in his previous fight, being knocked down twice in the opening round of his fight with Andrew Golota, yet he had shown heart in recovering, eventually making Golota quit late on. But the warning signs had been there – did Grant have a suspect chin?
Grant surprised Lewis by taking the fight right to him when his big chance came, even getting home with a shot or two. But Lewis soon put his challenger firmly in his place, decking him with a right hand that landed high on the head. Grant never recovered and he was downed again, his legs all over the place, only the ropes keeping him up (Arthur Mercante Jr issuing a count). Then, with just seconds remaining in the round, Lewis landed a sledgehammer of a right bang on Grant’s chin, sending him down for a third time. His legs splayed apart, Grant looked all done. HBO commentator George Foreman thought Grant had suffered a broken leg!
But Grant had heart if nothing else, and he somehow hauled himself erect in time to make it through the hopeless round. Lewis ended matters with a right uppercut to the chin that sent Grant down for keeps (although here too, Grant was trying to get back up.) The shot Lewis landed was actually assisted by an illegal move, that of Lewis holding Grant with his left arm as he launched the killer right. Grant was in no shape to complain.
One of Lewis’ most impressive, and ruthless KO’s, the job Lennox did on “next big thing” Grant features prominently on his highlight reel today.
Interestingly, with regards to Foreman’s “he broke his leg” comment, Grant did suffer a broken ankle in his very next fight. Having taken a number of months off after the Lewis hammering, Grant came back to face another huge guy in Jameel McCline. Grant was beaten in just 43 seconds. Having been caught and put down by a fast McCline left hand, Grant injured the ankle upon falling. He never recovered. Neither did his career.