by Mark Lovell: On March 11th in Nevada, fight fans will be treated to two men who put the “heavy“ in Heavyweight boxing as Tye “Big Sky” Fields and Big Michael Grant step into the ring in a bout which has “knock-out“ written all over it.
The oft-derided Fields (whom sometimes it seems boxing forums were invented for) has been criticized for padding his record but should feel comfortable fighting in Las Vegas, having over ten fights there – the last one, famously, ended with him being knocked out in the first round by Monte Barrett. That was nearly three years ago however, and Fields is looking to return to Vegas with a win over what will be his best opponent since Barrett – Michael Grant. Tellingly, 6’8 Fields will not be able to rely solely on his famous stature, as Grant himself is only one inch shorter.
In a career which began in the mid-90s, 38yo Grant has amassed a record of 46(34)-4, with those losses coming from quality opponents in Lennox Lewis, Jameel McCline, Dominick Guinn and in his last bout, Tomasz Adamek. His most famous win was over Andrew Golota who famously quit on his stool after the 10th, despite winning by a wide margin on all cards. He has fought only six times in the last five years (with an eighteen month break between his fight to win the NABA title and his Adamek-tune up against Kevin Burnett) but all his opponents have been of reasonable quality with good win-loss records (with the exception of notable journeyman Demetrice King).
In contrast, 36yo Fields’ record of 45(41)-2 has few names on his record as he has been seemingly reluctant to increase the quality of his opponents (Saul Montana and recent Holyfield opponent Sherman Williams stand out). On paper, Fields should have challenged for such titles as NABA or one of the Inter-Continental belts – or even the WBF. Like Grant he has had long breaks between bouts, taking a year after his defeat to Barrett and another between for the majority of 2010. Fields has been looking a lot sharper since his last defeat, with none of his four fights going the distance. He literally put Nicolai Firtha (who was at the time in the American Top 10) through the ropes and took out Canadian heavyweight challenger Raymond Olubowale in the third. Tellingly, Fields has been concentrating on the body in his last fights where his sheer power means he can cause a KO.
Grant would be favoured by most to beat Fields by KO after a creditable display against Adamek; however, I don’t think Grant will have the easy time people expect him to. His size proved to be what made the Adamek fight as competitive as it was – this will not be a factor against Fields, who has taken out bigger men than Grant. Fields has undeniable power in both hands and has developed his skills notably in the last few years – although they will not be as slick as Grant. Whatever happens, it seems inevitable the public will be witness to a huge man being sent tumbling to the canvas.
Its hard to know where the fight will take each fighter. Fields has indicated he wants to take on Neven Pajkic for the Canadian heavyweight title (he has lived in Alberta for the past few years). A win against Grant would go a long way to silencing his critics and could well set him up for a name bout against the likes of Cris Arreola – I also think a fight against McCall would be a great bout. At 36yo, he cannot afford to take another year’s break. A loss, particularly one similar to the early KO against Barrett, would prove disastrous for Fields and probably signal the end to any serious ambitions he had in boxing.
A win for Grant would cement his status as one of the „best of the rest“. His loss against Adamek showed that his size is not enough at the highest level of competition but a good win against a name like Fields will ensure him a number of good paydays in the future as a top gate-keeper in US boxing although at 38 retirement cannot be far away.
Tickets, priced at $25, $40, $60, $90 and $150, are available at the Planet Hollywood Theatre box office from 10 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Thursday through Tuesday and from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday or by calling the Planet Hollywood box office at 702-785-5555, ext. 55620 during those hours. Tickets also are available through Ticketmaster at 800-745-3000 or at www.ticketmaster.com