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'The 10th round has been very good' Two of Grant's last three fights ended in 10th on TKOs
Posted: Thursday April 27, 2000 12:13 AM
NEW YORK (AP) -- Michael Grant believes he knows how his challenge to heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis will end. "If you ask me to make a prediction . . . the 10th round has been very good to me," Grant said. Two Grant's last three victories were on 10th-round technical knockouts. In the last one, he got up from two first-round knockdowns and beat Andrew Golota on Nov. 20. Lewis says he doesn't know the script. But he knows the ending of the 12-round fight Saturday night at Madison Square Garden. "I never make any prediction in my fights," Lewis said Wednesday at the final news conference. "The only prediction I will make is that Lennox Lewis will be victorious." The champion from Britain then made another prediction. "My next fight after this fight will definitely be in England," he said. He added that he was not slighting Grant (31-0, 22 knockouts). "Every time I step into the ring it's a serious fight," said the 34-year-old Lewis. "When you have a man weighing 250 pounds trying to take your head off, you've got to be serious." The 27-year-old Grant stands 6-foot-7, two inches taller than Lewis. He weighed from 250 to 256 pounds in his last five fights, and he is expected to be at least 250 at the official weigh-in Thursday. Lewis (35-1-1, 27 knockouts) weighed 242 when he outpointed Evander Holyfield in their rematch Nov. 20, and he is expected to weigh in that range again. By the time of the 5 p.m. EDT weigh-in, a squabble of gloves should be settled. Lewis said Reyes gloves will be worn. Grant said he has a problem with them. "Michael says the gloves don't fit his hands," Lewis said. "I find that hard to believe, because he doesn't have bigger hands than me." "I tried on 16 pairs," Grant said. "If they want to come up with another 16, OK. My right hand fits well, but my left is uncomfortable, If we can use Reyes, OK. If not we have a problem." It's the kind of problem that can be solved when a fighter is guaranteed a reported $4 million and is getting at chance at becoming heavyweight champion. Lewis reportedly is guaranteed $10 million. The fight will be the fourth on a pay-per-view (TVKO) telecast beginning at 9 p.m. The main even is expected to start about 11:30 p.m. Preceding the heavyweight title fight will be an IBF featherweight championship defense by Paul Ingle (22-1, 15 knockouts) of England against Junior Jones (47-4, 27 knockouts) of Brooklyn, N.Y. The telecast will open with a 12-round heavyweight bout between Wladimir Klitschko (32-1, 30 knockouts) of Ukraine, and David Bostice (21-1-1, 12 knockouts) of Mesa, Ariz. The other bout will be a 10-round welterweight match between Arturo Gatti (31-4, 26 knockouts) of Jersey City, N.J., and Eric Jakubowski of Whiting, Ind. The New York State Athletic Commission has ordered the weigh-ins for Ingle-Jones, Gatti-Jakubowski and other non-heavyweight fights on the card to held at 8 a.m. Saturday. This decision upset both Ingle and Jones.
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