Adamek vs. Grant: Will this be a Tune Up for a Klitschko Fight?
Written By: Armando Paz
If someone would ask me besides David Haye who would you like to see fight a Klitschko? My answer would be Polish fighter Tomasz Adamek (41-1 27 KO’s). Adamek is coming off an impressive win over Chris Areolla this last April. Adamek is both a former Light Heavyweight and Cruiserweight champion and his hope is to eventually be the first fighter ever to win major titles in three highest divisions in the sport. In order to get a shot at either Klitschko down the road he needs to get past American fighter Michael Grant (46-3 34 KO’s) this Saturday at the Prudential center, Newark, New Jersey.
Grant at 6 feet 7 and long reach would be a good sparring partner for a future Klitschko opponent. Grant even at 38 years old still has some of the essential skills to be a heavyweight contender. Unfortunately, although being a highly regarded prospect things seem to fall apart for Grant about a decade ago. Grant would suffer an early knockout loss to Lennox Lewis in which he barely survived the first round after going down three times and then being finished off in the second round. His next fight would have him suffer a technical knockout to Jameel McCline after less than a minute. It seemed that Grant’s boxing career was over. He was now dubbed a “glass jaw” and really was not considered a serious heavyweight contender. Even his prior win against Andrew Golota saw him getting knockdown twice and barely surviving. We have seen a fighter like John Ruiz suffer an early knockout in his career to David Tua yet rebound from it and become a heavyweight champion. Grant has had only one additional loss in the last seven years, but his opponent selection has been very questionable to say the least. New Trainer Eddie Mustafa Muhammad has worked on his defense in order to make sure his questionable chin is protected. His fight with Adamek will either revitalize his heavyweight ambitions or pretty much end hopes in a future title shot.
I don’t think Adamek will have much problems with the size difference. Adamek has already scored wins against bigger opponents like Arreola and Andrew Golota. I don’t think the Grant height or 10 inch reach advantage will be a great factor. In addition, Adamek has proven to have a solid chin in three different weight classes against opponents as O’Neil Bell, Steve Cunningham and Chris Arreola. The only blemish in Adamek’s career is when he loss his WBC light heavyweight title to Chad Dawson; in a fight that saw both fighters trade knockdowns. Adamek will likely use his excellent lateral movement while jabbing to the body as he has done with previous taller opponents. The great handspeed will also allow him to land combinations when he picks his spots. Morevoer, Adamek being agile and quick is excellent in ducking and slipping.
Grant likely will not fight like he did in his undiscipline days when he would get overzealous and leave himself open. There will be a more tactical approach by Grant to try to slow down Adamek. One thing is that Adamek is able to make adjustments within fights and we just saw recently how the last Eddie Mustapha fighter Chad Dawson did in making adjustments against Pascal. It took the 11th round for Dawson to figure out that all he needed to do was to go underneath Pascal with a short left uppercut when Pascal charged in. Of course, this is a new fight and we will see how much Michael Grant has really evolved as a fighter with a legitimate contender.
Adamek if he wins the fight can get a title shot against a Klitschko as he is rated top 5 in both the IBF and WBC ratings. In fact, there were reports he was considered as a possible opponent for both David Haye and the Klitschkos. It is possible that Adamek wanted to fight a very tall fighter like Michael Grant as possible tune for a Klitschko. As a result, i don’t want to throw the word “ducker” around for a fighter who has already been willing to fight some of the best fighters in three different weight classes. Hopefully, if Adamek wins the fight he will try to become the 34th fighter to be champion in three different weight classes and the first to win in the Light Heavyweight, Cruiserweight, and Heavyweight division. With all the problems and chaos in the Heavyweight division it would be an interesting story to observe.
