- 6 days ago
Undefeated Heavyweight contender Michael Grant takes on former sparring partner Ahmad Abdin for the vacant NABF Heavyweight title on HBO Boxing After Dark
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00:00:00And now we bring you back live to the Atlantic City Convention Center and get ready for our look at Michael Grant, Larry Merchant.
00:00:07Grant is part of a lot of big things that are happening in the heavyweight division.
00:00:10You have the unification bout coming up next month, or two months from now, between Holyfield and Lewis Tyson back in action and looking for bigger and better business.
00:00:19How does young Grant fit into all of that?
00:00:21Jim, we don't know yet for sure because a lot of the public really doesn't know him.
00:00:27But you can look at it this way.
00:00:29There's some kind of football game down in Florida tomorrow.
00:00:33Denver is favored, I understand, by about a touchdown to beat Atlanta.
00:00:38Well, in six months to a year, Michael Grant would be favored just as much against any of the big-name, familiar heavyweights we've been watching for the last decade.
00:00:51There is a new generation of heavyweights that's coming up.
00:00:55And sooner or even sooner than that, they will be running the show.
00:01:00Michael Grant has the most star potential.
00:01:04David Tua is already a mandatory challenger.
00:01:07Rahman gained stature in his loss to Tua recently.
00:01:11And there are also a few others just behind them.
00:01:14Aika Bayabuchi, who beat Tua, but has had legal and personal problems and is now scheduled to fight Chris Bird, who nobody else wants to fight because of his left-handed cutie style.
00:01:27That's going to happen in March.
00:01:29And Kirk Johnson is still considered a comer.
00:01:32You never know about young athletes, which ones or when they might break down, just like young horses, for that matter.
00:01:42But Michael Grant is the winter book favorite, Jim, to win the triple crown of boxing.
00:01:48Yeah, and if you only saw him in the barn.
00:01:50If you never saw him in the ring, he still might be the winter book favorite off of just how he looks when he's walking around.
00:01:55He gets ready to fight a guy who doesn't look that way.
00:01:58In fact, Roy Jones, Ahmad Abdeen, is a former sparring partner of Grant's.
00:02:02And one axiom in this business is you don't fight a former sparring partner unless you handled him easily in the ring.
00:02:09Given that, is this, can we write it down, an easy victory for Grant?
00:02:13No, you definitely cannot write it down as an easy victory.
00:02:16Mainly because sometimes when guys come to training camp, they come there to see what will it take for me to beat this guy if I ever get the opportunity, like guys have done to me.
00:02:24And they come there with everything to gain, nothing to lose.
00:02:28When they learn what they think they need to come beat you, they go back, they train hard, they give themselves time to prepare.
00:02:34And they call you out.
00:02:35And then they call you out.
00:02:36And you do whatever you got to do to them.
00:02:39Well, we'll see what happened between Grant and Abdeen in the past.
00:02:42Maybe it'll show up as they fight from round to round.
00:02:44Tale of the tape between Michael Grant and Ahmad Abdeen.
00:02:48And Grant is 26 years old, been boxing exactly six years.
00:02:52Four-inch height advantage, seven-pound weight advantage.
00:02:5514-inch, no check-in, 12-inch reach advantage for Grant.
00:02:58He'll have physical advantages against virtually everyone he ever faces in the rings.
00:03:03Rules with a bout with our unofficial scorer, Harold Letterman.
00:03:06Okay, Jim, we're going to talk about the controversy.
00:03:08Michael Grant and Ahmad Abdeen will fight tonight using those unified rules of the Association of Boxing Commissions.
00:03:14Jim, Ahmad's manager, Bob Spagnuolo, this week documented that in past fights,
00:03:20Michael Grant has wanted protective supporter to hide.
00:03:23And the rules say that a fighter should have the top of the supporter no higher than his belly button.
00:03:28So watch for referee Eddie Cotton, you know, to be constantly looking at Michael Grant to see how high he's got that supporter.
00:03:34Back to you, Jim.
00:03:35Here comes Ahmad Abdeen into the ring.
00:03:45He claims that Grant has never hurt him in the gym.
00:03:49Of course, they wear head guards and they wear big gloves.
00:03:53He's a very aggressive fighter.
00:03:55Try to be in Grant's chest all night long.
00:03:58And comes from a boxing tradition in his family back in Syria, which is uncommon.
00:04:07Hails originally from the town of Ladakhia, Syria, now lives in Houston.
00:04:11We mentioned earlier the tow truck business that his family runs there.
00:04:15Seems to be a pleasant, bright young man with his feet on the ground.
00:04:19And the question is whether he can keep his feet on the ground tonight.
00:04:29He does take umbrage at all of the glory and hype that's being heaped on Grant.
00:04:36He says, hey, listen, this guy's no Holyfield or Lewis.
00:04:38I know.
00:04:39Here's a closer look at him.
00:04:42He's a cousin of Mustafa Hamshou.
00:04:44Some of you will remember a very rugged middleweight in the 80s who fought Marvin Hagler twice.
00:04:51And his only loss to Larry Donald, a top ten fighter.
00:04:57Donald did knock him down in the fight, right?
00:05:00A surprise flash knockdown, yes.
00:05:02A little dance music for the Michael Grant entrance.
00:05:17Longest layoff of his professional career so far.
00:05:20Come on, stay focused.
00:05:24What everybody is wondering is, will he be the Mark McGuire?
00:05:33Of the heavyweight division.
00:05:35Well, part of the attraction, not just that he's so gifted into the ring,
00:05:39but he's seen as a model citizen outside the ring
00:05:43and the kind of person who could bring positive hero imagery to the sport.
00:05:50I'm not sure that that's what fans really want, Jim, to tell you the truth.
00:05:55Not sure they respond to that.
00:05:58A closer look at Michael Grant.
00:05:59You can see he's a man of many skills, a piano, an all-sports star in high school in Chicago.
00:06:07Started boxing just at the age of 20 when referee Richard Steele spotted him,
00:06:16suggested that he try boxing.
00:06:18And his first trainer was Jack Mosley, the father of lightweight champion Shane Mosley,
00:06:25who is here tonight in his corner.
00:06:27And let's go up to ring announcer Michael Buffer for the pre-fight introduction.
00:06:30Ladies and gentlemen, by way of Bally's heart place, Atlantic City, New Jersey,
00:06:38main events, along with your undisputed, undefeated king of beers, Budweiser.
00:06:44This Bud's where you present 12 rounds of boxing for the vacant NABF heavyweight championship.
00:06:51Sanctioned by the New Jersey State Athletic Control Board, boxing commissioner Larry Hazard Sr.,
00:06:57chairman Jerry Gormley, board members Gary Shaw and Stephen Katz, deputy commissioner John Greco.
00:07:04Physicians at ringside are Dr. Charles Wilson, Dr. Eric Wormser, Dr. Howard Taylor, and Dr. Kenneth Remsen.
00:07:12Your timekeeper at the bell is Arthur Spell, and counting for the knockdown seconds, alternate referee Lindsey Page.
00:07:20This belt is also sanctioned by the North American Boxing Federation president, Sammy Mejiais,
00:07:26supervisor at ringside, Jean-Guy Prescott.
00:07:30The three judges scoring this belt on a 10-point must system are Miguel Acuna, David Hess, and Barbara Perez.
00:07:39And when the bell rings, your referee in charge of the action, Eddie Cotton.
00:07:46And now, ladies and gentlemen, from Bally's Park Place, here in Atlantic City, New Jersey,
00:07:53let's get ready to rumble!
00:08:04Introducing first, fighting out of the blue corner,
00:08:06wearing black, tripped with white, and weighing 243 pounds.
00:08:12He has a professional record consisting of 25 victories, including 11 by knockout,
00:08:17with one defeat and three draws.
00:08:21Ladies and gentlemen, fighting out of Houston, Texas,
00:08:24here is...
00:08:25Muhammad Ali!
00:08:29And his opponent is across the ring, fighting out of the red corner,
00:08:37wearing white, trimmed with black, and weighing an even 250 pounds.
00:08:42He fights out of Norristown, Pennsylvania, and brings a professional record to the ring.
00:08:46A perfect 28 victories without a loss.
00:08:5020 by knockout.
00:08:51And he is considered by many as the best young heavyweight in the sport today.
00:08:56He is recognized by the IBC as their world champion.
00:09:01And tonight, he goes for the NABF title.
00:09:04Ladies and gentlemen, presenting the undefeated,
00:09:08Michael Brown!
00:09:11Boxers, you both received your instructions in the dressing room.
00:09:26Obey my commands.
00:09:28This is all good.
00:09:29They're a little bit high, but all that's good.
00:09:31Okay, let's touch gloves.
00:09:32Have a good, clean fight.
00:09:33Let's go.
00:09:34Muhammad Abdin told us that he had met with another Muhammad, Ali, recently.
00:09:44And Ali proceeded to show him how to do some of his magic tricks.
00:09:50He will need some magic tricks tonight.
00:09:53And though the given name is Ahmad, he prefers Muhammad.
00:09:56It's his nickname, so to speak.
00:09:58That's why Michael Buffer introduced him as Muhammad Abdin.
00:10:01He prefers it.
00:10:02Because all of the promotion for the fight centered around his given name of Ahmad,
00:10:07we've kept our graphics that way.
00:10:08But if you hear somebody mention Muhammad, it's Abdin.
00:10:14Grant starts out working behind his big, heavy chair.
00:10:216'7", 250 pounds.
00:10:24This is the future of the heavyweight division, isn't it, Roy?
00:10:26Oh, yes, it is.
00:10:27Most definitely.
00:10:28I mean, not just Michael, but guys of this size.
00:10:31These guys are harder to reach.
00:10:33The small guy's going to have a major hard time trying to get close enough to land punches
00:10:37on them.
00:10:38Especially if they're using jabs like Michael Grant is starting out here tonight.
00:10:41You know, we've talked about his high trunks and his cup.
00:10:46And maybe it's because he is so big, but it does look high.
00:10:52There's not much body to hit there.
00:10:54Yes, high, but, I mean, think about it.
00:10:56It makes him have less of a target for his opponents to hit.
00:10:59And anything that's shy of a chest shot is going to be considered almost a low blow.
00:11:05Sure.
00:11:06If you can get away with it, do it.
00:11:07Absolutely.
00:11:08Eddie Cotton, the referee, took a look at it and said, this is okay.
00:11:11Hey, use every advantage that you can get while you're out there trying to win.
00:11:15It's a legal advantage.
00:11:18Nothing wrong with that.
00:11:18That left hand, that jab is a legal advantage, too.
00:11:26That left jab has already created a red welt down the center of Abdeen's nose and a red
00:11:32welt to the outside of Abdeen's right eye.
00:11:34So Michael Grant is already doing some damage with the left jab in round number one.
00:11:40And Abdeen did sort of brush Grant's whiskers with that left hook.
00:11:46I'll tell you what.
00:11:47If Abdeen is anything almost as tough as what his uncle was, it would have taken more
00:11:53than a left jab to stop him.
00:11:54Yeah, Mustafa Hamshio.
00:11:56Well, and he was a tricky fighter with every known trick in the book.
00:12:07Abdeen has landed the left hook to the body a couple of times.
00:12:11Short with his right hand.
00:12:14You can see the scar on the back of Abdeen's skull.
00:12:17He says that as an infant, less than one year old, he was thrown out of a car in an automobile
00:12:23accident back in Syria.
00:12:26And he lay in the road, a baby wrapped in a blanket lying in the road as a 16-wheeler
00:12:33came toward him, and the uncle who trains him in the ring rushed to the road and pulled him
00:12:37out of the way.
00:12:39Quite a story.
00:12:42You heard referee Eddie Cotton say that Abdeen's shot to the body was okay, and it did land square
00:12:51on the belt, so he's trying to enlarge the hitting zone in the body.
00:12:59I tell you, Michael Grant is showing a lot of patience here tonight, too.
00:13:02We've never seen him start out like this with a jab establishing himself yet.
00:13:06But it's probably because of that long leg off he wants to come in and get comfortable
00:13:10again.
00:13:11Grant moving on his feet, firing the jab, apparently working on refurbishing his boxing skills in
00:13:18round number one.
00:13:19Grant's trainer, Don Turner, also trains Evander Holyfield, and has stated quite openly in
00:13:36the past, if Grant ever fights Holyfield, he trains Grant.
00:13:41He is planning to wrestle us this battle with his rule in with the other ocasions.
00:13:59Without taking place.
00:14:00what i'll have hold on okay
00:14:10what evander holyfield has said jim is that because of grant size
00:14:15that if you can make him work hard enough he believes that stamina will be a problem for him
00:14:26yeah but where is it written that you can't train a 250 pound body to go 12 rounds
00:14:39seems to me if you train hard enough stamina is not going to be a problem regardless of your size
00:14:44well it's written in evander's book on boxing and uh he knows more than i do
00:14:49and if you're looking for a dark cloud in the blue sky of michael grant's prospects as a potential
00:15:08heavyweight champion it is an opponent's connect percentage copy box numbers show that against
00:15:14quality opponents and that dean doesn't even necessarily rank in that category but against
00:15:18the good fighters he's fought they land 47 of their punches against grant they don't throw as
00:15:23many as they would against other fighters but they land at a high rate you know why why because
00:15:28grand allows them to come inside and fight him he does a lot more inside fighting than you would
00:15:32expect a guy of his size and status to do he has he's 6 8 he has long reach but he fights inside or he
00:15:38fights wherever his opponent wants to fight it he doesn't avoid anything well is it dangerous for him
00:15:45to allow opponents to connect 40 of the time should he should he fight more defensively or more
00:15:50carefully with regard to allowing opponents inside i think he should especially when he moves up to
00:15:55fight tough opponents and we fight a guy first and say he fought a guy like mike tyson you don't want to
00:16:00allow mike to hit you at real because one shot from mike in the fight can be over with yep well you know
00:16:06percentage is also a function of how many punches are thrown at him if if 40 is 10 punches thrown and
00:16:13four landed that's not a big deal if it's 50 punches thrown in around and 20 landed that could be a bigger
00:16:19deal well what it's been is 30 punches and 14 or 15 landed two minutes for me yeah there you go if
00:16:27there's two punches in one lane it's too many for me
00:16:39well i guess the first surprise here is that our dean is not really that concerned with getting inside
00:16:49of grant's long reach he's fighting him primarily from outside he doesn't have to be because mike's
00:16:54going to come to him anyway mike like i said mike doesn't care where he fights that he just wants
00:16:58to fight that's one good thing about him i mean he doesn't care he'll fight wherever his opponent
00:17:02wants to fight at if you want to fight him inside he'll fight you inside if you want to fight outside he'll
00:17:07fight you outside
00:17:21don't get caught on the road too
00:17:26you understand
00:17:29don turner tell grant to get off the ropes and here is why
00:17:59one solid punch in there
00:18:03and what you look for in a young fighter is not only his ability to punch but what happens when he gets
00:18:09and he responded very calmly grant and dominated the rest of the round
00:18:19by computer box numbers amada dean has landed 19 power shots in the first couple of rounds
00:18:26that's more than grant who's only landed 10 out of 25. grant has been focusing on his jab
00:18:35dean lunging forward with a wide sweeping left hook and it
00:18:39touches the face of michael grant not really a solid connect but it was there
00:18:51that's a great deal with the fact that they know each other so well
00:19:02uh... a great deal of it because
00:19:04that's good
00:19:05uh... after knows that michael grant is not going to be running from him so he doesn't have to make no
00:19:11uh... make a big adjustment to like try to chase him or to try to get inside because you know mike's
00:19:16going to be right there
00:19:17and mike's not worried about anything because he's caught abdin's pressure power before
00:19:21so he's not feeling any pressure from being hit by abdin
00:19:26at the end of the day
00:19:36gets against the ropes and then eddie cotton separates them
00:19:44you wonder when michael is going to try to drop a big right hand over the top
00:19:47He's got it.
00:19:48He's got it.
00:19:49He's got it.
00:19:50He's got it.
00:19:51Where's right hand, Roy?
00:19:52I don't even know if he's going to try it anytime soon.
00:19:55I think he's trying to wait, find some other openings first.
00:19:58Look where Abdi's left glove is.
00:20:01It's, it's, every time it looks like Grant is coming in to throw punches, it's right
00:20:07up there around his eyeball.
00:20:10Nice quick little right hook inside by Grant.
00:20:16Good job!
00:20:19Good job, good job, girl.
00:20:21Good job, good job.
00:20:31Lead right hand by Grant through the guard of Abdi.
00:20:36Grant, you see the shoulder movement, head movement, double jab.
00:20:44He himself says, gosh, I might rather be in the NFL playing in the Super Bowl.
00:20:49I think I was that good.
00:20:50I might rather be in the NBA getting a big contract.
00:20:53I think I was that good.
00:20:55But I chose boxing.
00:20:56And he says boxing's much tougher than any of those other sports
00:20:58because here you have to be ready 24-7.
00:21:02You can't call the timeout and have somebody else come in
00:21:05and take over for you if you're not effective.
00:21:08Good job, good job.
00:21:13On March 8th, HBO Sports presents the next edition of Sports of the 20th Century,
00:21:20Dare to Compete, the Struggle of Women in Sports.
00:21:23This documentary chronicles the history of women in sports,
00:21:26depicting how the suffrage movement, the 60s, and Title IX
00:21:30helped set the stage for today's female athletes.
00:21:33Dare to Compete, starting March 8th, another premiere documentary from HBO Sports.
00:21:43in the Conor Podcast, HBO Sports.
00:21:46The New Ring on the Rock 8th, HBO Sports.
00:21:47Where are you going to be?
00:21:49Look at what's happening.
00:21:50Straight right-handed the body and that left hook point.
00:21:52It's working for you, Gary.
00:21:53Touch him with a jab and then hook off a little, OK?
00:21:56Again.
00:21:56No maintenance for you.
00:21:58That's right.
00:21:59Let's go.
00:22:01Quick one-two.
00:22:02All day long.
00:22:03Come on, let's go.
00:22:04Wake up.
00:22:05Wake up.
00:22:05Wake up.
00:22:06Wake up.
00:22:06Wake up.
00:22:06Wake up!
00:22:07Wake up!
00:22:08Wake up!
00:22:08Wake up!
00:22:08Wake up!
00:22:09Wake up!
00:22:09Wake up him!
00:22:09Wake up!
00:22:10Wake up!
00:22:10Wake up!
00:22:10Wake up.
00:22:11Wake up!
00:22:11whether he's not firing that right because he feels that abdine has seen the right and is prepared
00:22:19to counter it that's why i think he's not throwing up because abdine has seen it so much
00:22:24until he knows that that's probably might just bread and butter
00:22:33told jeff dean seems like a bright young man one reason is because uh when he went to work for grant
00:22:42he said don turner already knew him because he previously worked with holyfield therefore
00:22:46when turner offered him 750 a week he said no i won't do it for less than a thousand
00:22:51figuring that he had shown enough against holyfield that he could get
00:22:54don turner to give him the raise and he was right he got a thousand dollars a week
00:23:11and the crowd thinks that abdine is over dramatizing but it was solid
00:23:28okay take care of your time you got up for five minutes
00:23:41all right eddie cotton incidentally take your time is the man who disqualified andrew gillotta for
00:23:47low blows in the second bowl fight okay well you know if take your time walk it off walk it off
00:23:52okay you got a point one point low go one point low yeah i'm a little surprised by that he hasn't warned him before this
00:24:01uh
00:24:05but one of the interesting things here is is that if grant is wearing his trunks and his protective cup
00:24:11high abdine appears to hear to wear it low
00:24:18high abdine appears to wear it low okay let's go let's go let's go let's go was it over dramatizing or was
00:24:26he that badly hurt i think it was over dramatizing but i would like to see it again on the replay
00:24:31maybe you'll get a chance between rounds i can't guarantee
00:24:37producer dave harman guarantees it
00:24:38producer dave harman guarantees it with regard to replays he's the man
00:24:53has grant gotten into that zone yet larry where he must produce
00:24:57a spectacular performance every time out that that something good and working like is no longer good
00:25:02enough probably if if all of the praise and expectations that have been laid on him uh has to be
00:25:13sustained in order for him to get the notice of the public in order for him to get a shot at a title
00:25:19yeah he has to he has to look good he's dominant here but he hasn't he hasn't uh shown the kind of stuff
00:25:28that has uh attracted everybody to him yet maybe it's because of his uh recent idleness maybe it's
00:25:36because he's in with a sparring partner he hasn't let go yet apparently abdine talking to grant as he
00:25:44bears in against michael in the corner and you saw michael holding the left hand out as if to say
00:25:48i'm going to hit you in the rib cage again
00:25:50i think michael grant is overly impressive every time he goes out his size is enough to impress
00:26:00anybody he has punching power he has such a big flame until it makes you want to see what he's going
00:26:05to do next time great mike great
00:26:11okay
00:26:22that really make him simple okay he don't like his body shot
00:26:32nobody put water back down okay okay
00:26:39well here's your replay low blow let's take a look no i don't take that as necessarily a low blow
00:26:46that's above the low blow area now it's on the borderline of the cup but the cup is right
00:26:50on the naval line which is not a local team it's not a low blow it was his second punch
00:26:56right it was called the low blow i'm still surprised that he took a point away without
00:27:01having warned him previously i don't think i mean could have hurt been hurt so badly by the punch
00:27:06that he needed as much time as he took to recover from it but he's entitled yep
00:27:12harold how do you have it through four you know jim you might as well use the rules if you've got five
00:27:16minutes i'd take five minutes what the heck three rounds for michael grant one round even 39 36 michael
00:27:23grant uh round four i thought michael grant won with that left jab he just keeps pecking away with it
00:27:27but where referee eddie cotton took the point it becomes a nine nine round michael grant is wearing
00:27:32that support a high just like we talked about before the fight it's really not a you know at
00:27:37the legal level it's too high one other thing i want to point out jim michael grant and he's and
00:27:42he's not allowed to do this pushes off a lot or grabs i'm at up dean behind the neck behind the head
00:27:48it's illegal you can't push off with an open glove you can't grab bob dean behind the head as a defense
00:27:57lennox lewis gets away with it doesn't he harold but jim it doesn't make it right okay cotton wore them
00:28:05two or three times for grabbing behind the head he hasn't won them for pushing off watch michael grant
00:28:09push off of the open glove when ahmed gets inside they don't often put off the wrong guys for pushing
00:28:15off anyway i think evander holyfield pushed mike tyson off all night both uh both times they fought
00:28:21and got a lot of credit for it as a matter of fact i think he did so i don't really remember
00:28:24a fight where the referee really warned the guy too much of pushing off the referees push you off sometimes
00:28:39it makes the referee's job easier at least he doesn't have to push these two 250-pound guys around
00:28:45that's coming a combination to the body by grant the pesky abdine continues to lean in against
00:28:56the big heavyweight phenom and abdine landing at a higher percentage than grant throughout the fight
00:29:02his face shows the damage of their combat but grant has not been able to back abdine off with his power
00:29:10Phelan's birthday the kick there let's go too many times when they range up out of the color
00:29:14he does that go Davideha falling across
00:29:17there's nothing FD he hasn't seen before
00:29:39tonight. His left jab has been dominant. And Adin now firing punches off of Grant's
00:29:49shoulders as Michael uses that big frame to protect himself.
00:29:53And that's another good quality about a smart fighter. He brings what's necessary to put
00:29:58the job to the table. He needs a left jab tonight more so than anything else, so that's
00:30:03a little left hook to punctuate the round for Grant. One more edition of the show the
00:30:11pros watch inside the NFL Thursday, February 4. We debut this final edition, 11 o'clock
00:30:16Eastern and Pacific time. Highlights of tomorrow's Super Bowl game. So join Len, Chris, Nick
00:30:23and Jerry for their final comments on the 1998 season and their wrap up of the Super Bowl,
00:30:30whatever happens tomorrow.
00:30:37Get busy.
00:30:43Get busy.
00:30:49What I'm looking for in the second half of the fight is not just the craftsmanship and
00:31:16obvious skills that such a big man has. But I'm looking for a little passion, a little
00:31:22trying to make something happen. And I'm Michael Grant and I'm going to dominate you. I'm not
00:31:27going to move away from you as much as I've been moving now. I'm going to stand here and
00:31:31let's go.
00:31:35And it's a relatively quiet crowd in the upstairs room here at the convention center. Knowledgeable
00:31:42boxing crowd, so no doubt many of them are here for the specific purpose of looking at
00:31:47Grant and confirming or denying in their own minds whether he deserves his present status
00:31:54as the number three man in the division behind Lewis and Holyfield. And Grant does have a little
00:32:01bruise under his left eye.
00:32:03Dean has not backed off a bit.
00:32:09That's a hard left-hand shot to the body by Grant. Back to Dean up into the ropes.
00:32:28Through long stretches of the bout, Grant fighting up Dean, virtually one-handed, using the
00:32:34left hand alone to do his business.
00:32:40Takes a lot of discipline to do that, Jim.
00:32:46Especially for a young fighter.
00:32:49Guy with virtually no amateur career. As Larry mentioned, Richard Steele, the famed Vegas
00:32:56referee, met Grant when Grant came as a spectator to the first bout between Evander Holyfield
00:33:02and Riddick Bowe, November 6, 1992, at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas.
00:33:08Steele guided him into the hands of Jack Mosley, well-known now as the father of world lightweight
00:33:14champion Shane Mosley. And Mosley started him out in the gym in L.A. and taught him the rudiments
00:33:18of boxing. That was in 1992 and 93.
00:33:27Grant had been a football linebacker and tight end.
00:33:32And a front court rebounding star in basketball, both in his native Chicago and in junior college
00:33:37college in California.
00:34:04And a half way through the scheduled 12 here in Atlantic City, and Ahmad Abdeen still
00:34:13plugging away against overwhelmingly favored Michael Grant.
00:34:18Redheads tonight for round-card girls. Snubset. You don't often see it. The preponderance of blondes and brunettes so overwhelming in the sport
00:34:27that 90% of the time you would see no redheads at all. But tonight, a double redhead shot for round-card girl action in Atlantic City.
00:34:37A smart right-left combination to the head of Grant at the end of that round. But it probably did not salvage the round for
00:34:46Abdeen, who himself now is obliged if he wants to win rather than simply to survive, to make something happen, to open up.
00:34:55And maybe this has been too much like a sparring match between former sparring partners. That sometimes happens.
00:35:10It's probably one of the toughest things for general sports fans to understand about boxing. Good left hook by Grant.
00:35:19Yeah, and I think it shook Abdeen momentarily, but he comes right back.
00:35:35Roy, I think there are large segments of the general sporting public who will never fully understand or appreciate how difficult it is, even for a top fighter, to knock out an opponent who only wants to survive.
00:35:48Yeah, it's very difficult because that opponent is going to take as less chances as possible. He doesn't open himself up. It's like trying to get to a turtle's head while he's always in the shell.
00:35:59Something like Jesse Ferguson was able to pull off against Andrew Gulotta earlier this evening.
00:36:03There we go. And going ten rounds against an utterly dominant Gulotta.
00:36:10Grant's body shots, and he stepped up the pace to the body in the past two or three rounds,
00:36:16seem to be having a cumulative effect on Abdeen.
00:36:19He seems to be wearing Abdeen down a little bit.
00:36:23See, this is the part about the sparring that Abdeen didn't get to see.
00:36:27They usually go over six or eight rounds, so when it gets late in the fight, the sparring partner does not know how to react.
00:36:34Grant says that if he bides his time and stays patient, his opponents will all tire against him because the extra effort they put forth in fighting against a so much larger man saps them more than they realize.
00:36:50And that could be a possibility. And that's what I think Michael is waiting on here.
00:37:00Abdeen reaching across the top to try to get in the right hand.
00:37:07The first round in which Abdeen has shown in his face something like a look of a roller coaster discouragement, but just as I say,
00:37:14the first round in which Abdeen has shown in his face something like a look of a roller coaster discouragement.
00:37:32But just as I say it, he whacks Grant with a left hook and pounds him with another right hand.
00:37:41But I think Grant's body punches are really, really weakening him.
00:37:50Despite all the leather Abdeen has tried to throw and those punches we've seen him land, Grant's face is unmarked,
00:37:57while Abdeen begins to show quite an array of welts and scratches.
00:38:04He has a little sweating under that left eye.
00:38:06Oh, yeah, you're right. I take it back. There you got it. Right there.
00:38:10You want to see an eye? Look across the wing. Here's an eye slot. Here's an eye slot. Here's an eye slot.
00:38:29Rinse his mouth. Rinse his mouth. Rinse his mouth.
00:38:32Okay.
00:38:50This is your fight, baby. Come on.
00:38:54Last more whether mud woman
00:38:55I don't know what I'm going to do, but let's move, okay, dancing, dancing, dancing, huh?
00:39:02Sometimes these fights between big men, particularly a young, talented, promising guy we're all expecting big things from,
00:39:15can be a little bit like watching a sausage being made.
00:39:20It's not always pretty, but it's necessary.
00:39:25That's strafing Abdeen with the left hook after softening him up with a series of jabs.
00:39:51You know, I think what's happened here, Roy, is that Abdeen came out determined to neutralize the right hand of Grant,
00:40:02which is his most dangerous punch, and in effect dare him to beat him with his left.
00:40:09And that's exactly what Grant is doing.
00:40:13It's sort of like trying to stop the running game and tell us,
00:40:17you've got to beat us with your passing game or vice versa.
00:40:20And a smart team takes what the off the team gives him.
00:40:24He's giving Grant the left hand and the jab, and that's what Grant's taking.
00:40:26Get out, get out, get out, get out.
00:40:35Abdeen needs to be the one fighting the hardest when he's inside because he can throw bigger and harder punches in there because his arms are shorter.
00:40:43Instead, he holds on quicker than Grant does.
00:40:46Grant lands a little right uppercut in there.
00:40:49Abdeen grabs and holds.
00:40:50Certainly can't fault Grant for patience here.
00:40:57He's been composed throughout.
00:41:00As was the lot earlier this evening.
00:41:12Abdeen! Abdeen!
00:41:18Abdeen!
00:41:19Small cheering section for the Syrian-American fighter, chanting Abdeen, Abdeen, Abdeen.
00:41:28Blood starting to flow in the middle of Abdeen's face as Grant continues to pound him with that left jab.
00:41:35Yeah, and one more thing Grant has to learn is he has to learn how to land that big right hand from right out there where he's landing that jab from.
00:41:41He's jabbing, jabbing, trying to sit up the right, but there it is.
00:41:44Yeah, watch.
00:41:44His body uses a little too close by the time he completes the second jab to land the right hand.
00:41:50He was about an inch short with a right hand that might have been his biggest punch in the bout so far.
00:41:55Keep up.
00:41:57Break!
00:41:59One more thing I don't look at you brother.
00:42:01Pick up man man!
00:42:05What are you holding here right hand?
00:42:07恨 to the right hand?
00:42:08Yeah.
00:42:08Let me look at you brother.
00:42:09Yeah.
00:42:09Listen Mike, what are you holding in your right hand?
00:42:19I hurt the hand.
00:42:21Yeah.
00:42:23Listen, you can get it fixed after.
00:42:26You know that.
00:42:31You can beat anybody with a left hand.
00:42:34You ain't draw enough left hand.
00:42:36I'm sorry.
00:42:37Let it stay.
00:42:39Relax.
00:42:39Relax.
00:42:40Relax.
00:42:40Relax.
00:42:40Relax.
00:42:41Relax.
00:42:43Okay.
00:42:44Sure.
00:42:47Okay.
00:42:47Okay.
00:42:47Okay.
00:42:48Okay.
00:42:48Take a deep breath.
00:42:51Deep breath.
00:42:51Back to .
00:42:52Back to .
00:42:53Every time you hit him in the body, you want to quit.
00:42:58That's why you don't like him, man.
00:43:00Perhaps a revealing conversation between trainer and Michael Grant.
00:43:05He says, where's your right hand?
00:43:06Why aren't you throwing it more?
00:43:08And we couldn't hear what Grant said, but he may have indicated that he heard it.
00:43:13And you heard Turner say, well, we'll take care of that later.
00:43:16And you can beat anybody with your left hand.
00:43:20Yeah.
00:43:20So there's every indication there that Grant has hurt his right hand.
00:43:23Yeah.
00:43:23But I don't know where he could have hurt it.
00:43:26He must have hurt it in training.
00:43:27I didn't think he landed in the big punches, but there again, he could have landed a shot
00:43:31on the elbow or something that really did hurt it.
00:43:34You can hurt it on the elbow.
00:43:36You can hurt it on the top of the head.
00:43:39Harold, how do you have it so far?
00:43:40Jim, I think he hurt it on the top of Abdeen's head.
00:43:42But I got a shout out.
00:43:45Seven rounds from Michael Grant.
00:43:46One round even when, you know, the fourth round when referee Eddie Cotton took away a
00:43:50point for a low blow.
00:43:52Michael Grant just keeps that left jab in Abdeen's face.
00:43:54And although Abdeen's landed a few good punches in his fight, he never follows it up.
00:43:58He lands one good punch and he grabs, he holds, he backs up.
00:44:01I mean, so far, Michael Grant's in complete control.
00:44:03Gets off first.
00:44:04He's the aggressor.
00:44:05Landed more jabs.
00:44:06And he's winning it with that left jab.
00:44:08Well, maybe we've got the wrong fight here.
00:44:11Maybe this should have been Grant against Gulotta and Abdeen against Ferguson.
00:44:16Well, then we would have only had to televised one of them.
00:44:20Yeah, because I don't think many people would have cared to see how Abdeen would have did
00:44:24against Ferguson.
00:44:25But the Grant-Gulotta fight would have been very interesting.
00:44:29Both families, large and wonderful families, I'm sure they would have been interesting.
00:44:33Oh, yeah.
00:44:33Grant-Gulotta, that'll be something to see.
00:44:35If it ever happens.
00:44:36Another body shot by Grant, this time with the right hand.
00:44:41So he's willing to throw the right to the body.
00:44:43And there's an uppercut.
00:44:49And you have to give it to Abdeen.
00:44:50He is tough and he's staying in here with Grant.
00:44:53Although Grant being much bigger than he is, he's taking some great shots from Grant.
00:44:56And he's getting paid better than $1,000 a week, which is what he got as a sparring player.
00:45:07And if you've had a long layoff, as Grant has had, sometimes having to go some rounds is a blessing in disguise.
00:45:14Probably at the end of the night, if he has to settle for a decision against Abdeen, Don Turner, the trainer, will say, well, it was a lot of good work.
00:45:21And Abdeen is still trying to lay in a big punch here.
00:45:26And Abdeen is still trying to lay in a big punch here.
00:45:31Good body shots by Grant.
00:45:48Now Dean doesn't like the body and the body shots
00:45:52and Grant is trying to make him like him even less.
00:45:56Grant listening well as trainer Don Turner told him
00:45:59every time you land the body shot, he wants to quit.
00:46:02There you go.
00:46:02And you can see it on that piece.
00:46:07Three, four.
00:46:10Okay.
00:46:10All right.
00:46:11First knockdown of the bout.
00:46:12First knockdown of the evening.
00:46:15Okay.
00:46:16You okay?
00:46:17That's a knockdown.
00:46:18That's a knockdown.
00:46:19That's a knockdown.
00:46:20That's a knockdown.
00:46:21And he cut and said it's a knockdown.
00:46:25It was a knockdown.
00:46:26And Abdin does have a look that seems to say,
00:46:32I don't want too many more of those body shots.
00:46:35Yeah.
00:46:35See, these are the rounds that you didn't get a chance to see
00:46:37in the gym when you spar with Michael Grant.
00:46:42Take a look.
00:46:43There were five or six or seven clear hard blows to the stomach.
00:46:49There you see a little uppercut intercepted by Abdin's ample little belly.
00:46:57I don't think it was little.
00:46:57I don't think anything Michael Grant can do is little.
00:47:05Grant, who existed off the jab through much of the bout,
00:47:08unloading 41 power shots in round nine.
00:47:11The majority of them to the body.
00:47:14And he landed more than half, 23.
00:47:17Letterman calling it an eight-point round.
00:47:20I don't know why they're putting grease on Abdin's head.
00:47:22They ought to put it on his belly.
00:47:26Ahmad Abdin willing to come out for more.
00:47:31Bout is scheduled for 12.
00:47:32You know, we've talked, Roy, about how Abdin has his left hand up there.
00:47:37He's really very conscious of Grant's right hand all fight long.
00:47:43And he's managed to neutralize it, but at considerable expense.
00:47:48Because he's a beaten-up fighter.
00:47:50Right hand.
00:47:51All right.
00:47:52Right hand by Grant.
00:47:53And Abdin goes down like the proverbial sack of potatoes.
00:47:58That was a good shot.
00:47:59As soon as Abdin opened up with an attempt to try something,
00:48:04he got nailed by that right hand.
00:48:06As soon as he opened up.
00:48:07He came out of that shield.
00:48:08And that's what happened when he comes out of that shield.
00:48:12So Abdin electing to go for Broke in the 10th round.
00:48:15It pays the price as Michael Grant, while backing up,
00:48:19lands a little right-hand shot that puts Abdin on the floor.
00:48:22Abdin hates it to the body.
00:48:23And Grant goes straight back to the midsection there.
00:48:29Let's go, let's go, let's go, let's go, let's go.
00:48:32Abdin trying to convince Eddie Cotton
00:48:34that he's being hit with low blows.
00:48:36Eddie Cotton won't go for it.
00:48:37They aren't low blows.
00:48:38They're right on the bare surface about being skinned.
00:48:41He doesn't even want to get hit in the chest anymore.
00:48:45Go ahead, Larry.
00:48:46No, I'm kidding, sir.
00:48:48You got to come along, man.
00:48:52Let's go.
00:48:54Let's go.
00:48:55I think Abdin wants his five minutes now.
00:49:03And Grant getting a chance to try to load up a right-hand shot.
00:49:08Seemed to pull the punch just a little bit at the end.
00:49:10Maybe that right hand is hurt in some way.
00:49:13So there have been two knockdowns, one in round nine with a body shot
00:49:28and one in round ten on a right hand of the head.
00:49:31And now for the first time in the fight,
00:49:42Abdin is seriously on the run away from Grant.
00:49:47I'm going to get out, get out, get out, get out.
00:49:49With good reason.
00:49:49You're a body punishment.
00:50:10Just an accumulation of blows to the body and the head.
00:50:14And again, the round comes to a close.
00:50:19He's got to get up to stay in the fight.
00:50:21And he does.
00:50:23That's in the round.
00:50:30How you feeling?
00:50:31I got this quite a lot for the last touch of this round.
00:50:34Tell me where you are.
00:50:36Tell me where you are.
00:50:38Give me the water.
00:50:39Let's see.
00:50:40There's a possibility
00:50:44that they can stop this fight.
00:50:45Abdin really doesn't want any more.
00:50:48It's over.
00:50:49I think the doctor is giving it up.
00:50:51All right.
00:50:52Uncle Hicham is saying he's all right.
00:51:03Here's the first knockdown.
00:51:05There you can see.
00:51:06And the fight has been stopped
00:51:08on the recommendation of the doctor.
00:51:11There you see a left jab.
00:51:12There you can see a left jab.
00:51:14The finishing blow of the salvo.
00:51:18The thoroughly beaten up
00:51:19the game.
00:51:24Muhammad Abdin.
00:51:26Salma Ahmed finally surrenders
00:51:29to the handiwork of Michael Grant.
00:51:33Grant landing 21 of 32 power shots
00:51:35in the 10th round.
00:51:36Again, most of them to the body.
00:51:38Dr. Ken Remsen saying to referee Eddie Cotton,
00:51:42why more?
00:51:43No more.
00:51:45Enough.
00:51:48Could have said that a long time ago.
00:51:50You got to give the crowd their money's worth.
00:51:52Oh, yeah.
00:51:53Most definitely.
00:51:54And let's face it.
00:51:55For most fight fans,
00:51:56particularly at a heavyweight fight,
00:51:59their money's worth means some damage.
00:52:01They want to see the guy go down.
00:52:02They deserve to get their money's worth.
00:52:07We are told
00:52:08that the decision to stop the fight
00:52:10came after Abdin was asked
00:52:12what city he was in
00:52:13and could not answer correctly.
00:52:18So what?
00:52:21Hold on.
00:52:22Who?
00:52:22A lot of us don't know.
00:52:24You know, I had a friend of mine
00:52:25that's an amateur one day
00:52:26that the doctor asked him to say,
00:52:28where are you?
00:52:29He said, I don't know.
00:52:30But that doesn't mean anything.
00:52:31I didn't know why Willis before the fight started.
00:52:33I just want to know
00:52:34you don't get away with that.
00:52:35You got it.
00:52:35I remember one night
00:52:36a referee chasing Mike Rossman
00:52:38across the ring
00:52:39to ask him if he was okay
00:52:40after Victor Galindus had knocked him down.
00:52:42Rossman says, I'm fine.
00:52:44Referee stops the fight.
00:52:45Rossman says,
00:52:45what was the right answer?
00:52:46It's okay.
00:52:55Hey, mama.
00:52:58Everybody back home in Chicago.
00:53:00Everybody back home in Chicago.
00:53:01God bless y'all.
00:53:02God bless you all.
00:53:03So say Michael Grant.
00:53:09Grant's 21st knockout
00:53:11in 29 ring appearances.
00:53:12I worked on a few things.
00:53:14Patience in the...
00:53:16Worked on a few things,
00:53:17you can hear him saying.
00:53:18Patience, et cetera.
00:53:19We'll hear more in just a few minutes.
00:53:20Let's go to Michael Buffett
00:53:21with the official particulars.
00:53:24Ladies and gentlemen,
00:53:25here at Bally's Park Place
00:53:27in Atlantic City, New Jersey,
00:53:28this bout has come to a halt.
00:53:30Referee Eddie Cotton,
00:53:32acting on the advice
00:53:33of Dr. Kenneth Remsen,
00:53:34has called a halt to the bout.
00:53:36The official time,
00:53:37it comes at the end
00:53:38of the 10th round.
00:53:40The winner by TKO victory,
00:53:42and now the new
00:53:43NABF heavyweight champion,
00:53:46the undefeated
00:53:48Michael Grant.
00:53:50And final punch stat numbers.
00:54:07Showing Grant's dominance
00:54:09in the fight.
00:54:10Throwing more than twice
00:54:11as many punches
00:54:12as Abdeen.
00:54:15And generally dominating
00:54:17throughout with his jab.
00:54:18Later in the bout,
00:54:19he shifted to body punches,
00:54:21and I think when he
00:54:21went on the attack
00:54:23to the ribcage,
00:54:24he wrote the final story
00:54:26in the fight, Roy.
00:54:27Body shots were the main thing.
00:54:29They took all of Abdeen's power.
00:54:31Let's go up to Larry Merchant
00:54:32with super heavyweight prospect
00:54:35Michael Grant.
00:54:36Thank you, Jim.
00:54:37Michael, congratulations.
00:54:39I see among your many talents,
00:54:43you're also a hairdresser.
00:54:46First question is,
00:54:48I see you're holding
00:54:49your right hand.
00:54:51There were some remarks
00:54:52between you and trainer Don Turner
00:54:53after about the ninth
00:54:55or eighth round
00:54:57in which he talked to you
00:54:58about throwing the right hand.
00:55:00Did you hurt it early
00:55:01in the fight?
00:55:02I did.
00:55:02I hurt it early.
00:55:04I think around the third round.
00:55:05I just jumped to my stick
00:55:08because I gave it some time
00:55:09to rest between the fifth
00:55:10and the sixth
00:55:11and the seventh
00:55:12and set it up for the eighth.
00:55:13How did you hurt it?
00:55:14On his head?
00:55:15I don't know what I hit.
00:55:16I think he got a hard
00:55:17upper forehead.
00:55:18I think I hit his elbow.
00:55:20I don't even know.
00:55:20I was throwing punches
00:55:21and I caught it
00:55:22at a bad angle.
00:55:24First, let me start off right.
00:55:26I want to give an honor
00:55:27to God, my Lord,
00:55:28and Savior Jesus Christ.
00:55:29Okay, yeah.
00:55:29Then I hurt my hand
00:55:31in the ninth round,
00:55:33eighth round,
00:55:33whatever.
00:55:34Hey, I recouped.
00:55:37Was that a good experience
00:55:39for you,
00:55:39having to win a fight
00:55:40with your left hand
00:55:41but finding your right
00:55:43when you had to finish it?
00:55:44Oh, yes, it was.
00:55:45I finally realized
00:55:46that I'm a late finisher.
00:55:49I'm not an early round
00:55:50knockout guy,
00:55:51but I can also go out there
00:55:54and knock somebody
00:55:54out in the first round.
00:55:55But my MO was just,
00:55:57you know,
00:55:57establish my jab,
00:55:59you know,
00:55:59frustrate the guy
00:55:59and look successful
00:56:00at the end of the fight.
00:56:01Was the fact
00:56:04that this was
00:56:05a long, grueling fight
00:56:06have anything to do
00:56:07with your experiences
00:56:09with him
00:56:10as a sparring partner
00:56:12that he knew you,
00:56:12that he seemed determined
00:56:14not to let you
00:56:15hit him with that right hand?
00:56:17Yeah, he was,
00:56:17he was, he was,
00:56:18he took some shots,
00:56:20you know,
00:56:20when we were sparring
00:56:21in the gym.
00:56:21He knows me pretty well,
00:56:22so he knows my power
00:56:23and everything.
00:56:24And so I had to catch him
00:56:25looping that left hand.
00:56:27So when he did that jab,
00:56:28catch him looping,
00:56:29when he launched
00:56:29in the corner,
00:56:30I just timed that right hand
00:56:31like I would have jumped back
00:56:32and hit it when I was going back
00:56:33and then hit him on the right
00:56:34at the point
00:56:35and broke him down.
00:56:36All right.
00:56:38Promoter,
00:56:38Dino Duva said,
00:56:39when I asked him
00:56:41a minute or two ago
00:56:42whether he would consider
00:56:44making a fight
00:56:45between you
00:56:46and Andrew Gulotta,
00:56:47what are your thoughts
00:56:48about that?
00:56:49You know,
00:56:49Gulotta got problems
00:56:50of his own.
00:56:52You know what I mean?
00:56:52And, you know,
00:56:54hey,
00:56:55I'm, you know,
00:56:56I'll fight anybody,
00:56:57Larry.
00:56:58What do you mean?
00:56:59You don't want to add
00:57:00to his problems?
00:57:01Is that what you're saying?
00:57:02Because I'm not going
00:57:02to talk about him,
00:57:03you know what I mean?
00:57:03Because, hey,
00:57:04he's his own man.
00:57:05He's got his own problems.
00:57:06His destiny is in his hand,
00:57:07you know what I mean?
00:57:08And that's, you know,
00:57:10I'll fight anybody,
00:57:11but really,
00:57:12my whole thing
00:57:12is that's establishing
00:57:13Mike Grant.
00:57:14Quickly then,
00:57:15Don Turner,
00:57:15how do you feel
00:57:16about a fight
00:57:17with Andrew Gulotta?
00:57:19I would love it.
00:57:21You know,
00:57:21I would love it.
00:57:22You know,
00:57:22Michael will fight anybody.
00:57:24All right.
00:57:25You said it all.
00:57:25Thank you very much again,
00:57:27gentlemen.
00:57:27Congratulations on your victory.
00:57:29And, Michael,
00:57:30you can stop being
00:57:31a Lenslaus at this point.
00:57:33You've had the camera
00:57:34on you
00:57:34for a good hour.
00:57:40Gulotta versus Grant.
00:57:43We'll take it.
00:57:44It would be
00:57:45an interesting fight.
00:57:46Just these final words.
00:57:47Jim Lampley said
00:57:49earlier tonight
00:57:50that Michael Grant
00:57:51was ranked
00:57:53just behind
00:57:54Evander Holyfield
00:57:56and Lennox Lewis
00:57:58in the minds
00:57:58of the boxing community,
00:58:00and that is true,
00:58:01but not yet
00:58:02by the sanctioning bodies
00:58:04who have seen fit
00:58:06to rank such worthies
00:58:08as John Ruiz,
00:58:10who was knocked out
00:58:11in 19 seconds
00:58:12by David Tua,
00:58:13and Ray Mercer
00:58:14who has fought
00:58:14one nondescript opponent
00:58:16in two years,
00:58:18and Henry Akinwande
00:58:19who put on
00:58:20that disgraceful performance
00:58:23in his challenge
00:58:24of Lennox Lewis,
00:58:25all ahead of Michael Grant.
00:58:27And when asked
00:58:27about such ratings recently,
00:58:30Jose Suleiman said,
00:58:31well, it's all subjective.
00:58:34No, no, no.
00:58:35It's all suspicious.
00:58:36And Michael Grant
00:58:37is neither subjective
00:58:39nor suspicious.
00:58:41Jim.
00:58:43All right, thanks a lot, Larry.
00:58:44You heard Grant say,
00:58:45I'll fight anybody.
00:58:46In truth,
00:58:47he told us
00:58:48in a fighter meeting yesterday,
00:58:49I'll never fight
00:58:50Evander Holyfield.
00:58:51I just don't want
00:58:52to fight him
00:58:53because our friendship
00:58:54is so close.
00:58:55At some point,
00:58:55Evander will go off
00:58:57into the twilight.
00:58:58Then I want to be
00:58:58heavyweight champion.
00:58:59So if, in fact,
00:59:01he lives up to his pledge,
00:59:02Roy, that he wouldn't
00:59:03fight Holyfield,
00:59:03for the fun of it then,
00:59:04let's assume Lewis
00:59:06wins the unification
00:59:07bout in March
00:59:08against Evander.
00:59:09The question then becomes,
00:59:10is Grant ready
00:59:11to be matched
00:59:12against Lennox Lewis
00:59:13right now?
00:59:14I don't know.
00:59:14First, I might want
00:59:15to see Larry Murchin
00:59:16versus Jose Suleman.
00:59:17I don't know.
00:59:19Murchin's quicker.
00:59:20I think Grant
00:59:22needs a little bit
00:59:23more experience
00:59:23before he fights
00:59:24a guy such as
00:59:25Lennox Lewis.
00:59:26He hasn't seen a guy
00:59:27with the same size
00:59:28that he has
00:59:29or with the punch
00:59:30and power
00:59:30that Lennox Lewis has.
00:59:31He will definitely
00:59:32need a little bit
00:59:33more experience
00:59:33before he takes
00:59:34on Lennox Lewis.
00:59:35So a match
00:59:36with Gulotta
00:59:36would be a great idea.
00:59:37That would be ideal
00:59:38for him because,
00:59:39like I said,
00:59:40he has a few more
00:59:40adjustments to make
00:59:41with his distance
00:59:43between the guy
00:59:44and himself.
00:59:45He doesn't,
00:59:46like tonight,
00:59:46we saw him several times
00:59:47have himself set
00:59:49for right hand
00:59:49but he was a little bit
00:59:50out of position.
00:59:51He was too close
00:59:52to his opponent
00:59:52to land the right hand.
00:59:54He has to work
00:59:54on these types of things
00:59:55before he can challenge
00:59:57somebody like Lennox Lewis.
00:59:58All right.
00:59:58Still more technique
00:59:59to learn.
01:00:00That's totally understandable.
01:00:01He had a very brief
01:00:02amateur career,
01:00:0329 professional fights
01:00:04and already,
01:00:05Michael Grant,
01:00:05as we've said,
01:00:06anointed by boxing
01:00:07reporters and magazines
01:00:09as the number three
01:00:10heavyweight,
01:00:11the heir apparent
01:00:12to the winner
01:00:13of Holyfield Lewis.
01:00:14Well,
01:00:15thanks for being with us.
01:00:16We'll have a final word
01:00:16on boxing in a moment.
01:00:17Here's some upcoming programs.
01:00:19His speed,
01:00:21his power
01:00:22are unquestioned.
01:00:23His explosiveness
01:00:24frightening to behold.
01:00:26He is the irresistible force.
01:00:29His defensive capabilities
01:00:30unparalleled.
01:00:32His veteran's wisdom
01:00:33and tactical skill
01:00:34are mesonizing
01:00:35and potentially insurmountable.
01:00:37He is the immovable object.
01:00:40World Championship Boxing
01:00:41Trinidad versus Whittaker.
01:00:44Live Saturday,
01:00:45February 20th on HBO.
01:00:47Witness the phenomenon.
01:00:49On February 27th,
01:00:51tune in for the
01:00:51half-hour countdown
01:00:52to Holyfield versus Lewis.
01:00:54We'll look at the careers
01:00:55of Evander Holyfield
01:00:56and Lennox Lewis
01:00:56and analyze their upcoming
01:00:58pay-per-view battle.
01:00:59Afterward,
01:01:00live boxing,
01:01:01Reggie Johnson
01:01:01against Will Taylor
01:01:02and Cesar Bazan,
01:01:05who is a lightweight titleist,
01:01:07against Stevie Johnston.
01:01:08That's a rematch.
01:01:10Earlier this evening
01:01:11here in the Atlantic City
01:01:12Convention Center,
01:01:13Andrew Galana,
01:01:14despite his trepidation
01:01:15about having to fight
01:01:16last-minute throw-in
01:01:17Jesse Ferguson
01:01:18instead of originally
01:01:18scheduled opponent
01:01:19Jimmy Thunder,
01:01:20made mincemeat of Ferguson
01:01:22in an easy,
01:01:23unanimous decision.
01:01:25Ferguson managed
01:01:26to fight and survive,
01:01:27but that's about all
01:01:28he was able to accomplish
01:01:29against a sharp Galana.
01:01:31And then Michael Grant
01:01:32labored through 10 rounds
01:01:34before finally managing
01:01:35to knock out
01:01:36former sparring partner
01:01:37Muhammad Abdeen.
01:01:39Grant pounded Abdeen
01:01:40in the late rounds
01:01:41with body shots
01:01:42and simply caved in
01:01:44his friend
01:01:45and former sparring partner.
01:01:47So Grant stays unbeaten
01:01:48at 29-0.
01:01:49Coming up immediately
01:01:50following our show,
01:01:51stay tuned for Murder at 1600.
01:01:53For the entire
01:01:54Boxing After Dark crew,
01:01:55I'm Jim Lampley
01:01:56saying so long
01:01:57from Atlantic City,
01:01:58New Jersey.
01:02:00The executive producer
01:02:01of HBO Sports
01:02:02is Ross Greenberg.
01:02:03Tonight's Boxing After Dark
01:02:04show was produced
01:02:05by Dave Harmon
01:02:06and directed
01:02:07by Mark Payton.
01:02:08The associate producers
01:02:09were Greg Backer
01:02:10and Max Siegel.
01:02:11Assistant to the producer,
01:02:12welcome,
01:02:13Rodney Burford.
01:02:14Production manager,
01:02:15Mark Hayden,
01:02:15technical supervisor,
01:02:17Bob Hunter.
01:02:17Happy 50th birthday,
01:02:19Bob.
01:02:20You didn't tell me
01:02:20last night
01:02:21when we were eating
01:02:22dinner next to each other.
01:02:23And the technical director,
01:02:24Doug Getz.
01:02:55This has been a presentation
01:03:12of HBO Sports,
01:03:14the network of champions.
01:03:15From HBO Sports,
01:03:23two great boxing shows
01:03:25on one great night.
01:03:26First,
01:03:27Holyfield vs. Lewis.
01:03:29Take an in-depth look
01:03:30at the threat,
01:03:31the history,
01:03:32the men,
01:03:32and their destiny
01:03:33before the showdown
01:03:35for the Unified Heavyweight
01:03:36Championship of the world.
01:03:38This is my opportunity
01:03:39to shock the world.
01:03:40I will do what's necessary
01:03:41to win,
01:03:42and I will win.
01:03:42Get the blow-by-blow
01:03:44before the ultimate battle.
01:03:46Countdown to Holyfield-Lewis,
01:03:48followed by Boxing After Dark Live
01:03:50as two champions
01:03:50operating in the shadows
01:03:52step into the limelight.
01:03:53Cesar Bazan
01:03:54defends his lightweight belt
01:03:55in a rematch
01:03:56with former champ
01:03:56Stevie Johnston.
01:03:57The victor earns a shot
01:03:58at Sugar Shane Mosley.
01:04:00Plus,
01:04:01light heavyweight champ
01:04:01Reggie Johnson
01:04:02takes on number one
01:04:03contender Will Taylor.
01:04:04The winner gets in line
01:04:05to battle Roy Jones Jr.
01:04:08Countdown to Holyfield-Lewis
01:04:09and HBO Boxing After Dark.
01:04:12It all happens Saturday,
01:04:13February 27th on HBO.
01:04:17Next on HBO,
01:04:19he's a detective.
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