Live Report: Adamek vs. Grant Press Conference

Michael Grant certainly has the physical assets to defeat Tomasz Adamek. And the Polish warrior possesses the speed and intelligence to overcome and offset the obvious advantages of the American. This is what makes this important clash of heavyweight titans so interesting – either man can win the fight – and put himself in position for a world title shot next year.

Grant hasn’t been seen much lately but his last win was a very good one. Grant knocked out fellow giant Kevin Burnett in the first round – the same Kevin Burnett who gave former Olympic champion and current top 5 contender Odlanier Solis a very competitive fight on ESPN last year. I asked Grant trainer Eddie Mustafa Muhammad what happened there and he said Grant landed a three-punch combination of a jab, right and then left hook and got Burnett out of there in the first round. Burnett is no joke of an opponent and you have to think that the punch power of Grant could be very dangerous for Adamek.

But it’s never been a question about the athleticism, power and skills of Grant, it’s about his self-belief and experience factors at the highest level. It’s very rare for a heavyweight boxer to master the sport after starting in his early 20′s and missing out on the all-important International amateur experience. Grant does not have that experience and boxing insiders like Cornelius Boza Edwards have told me that’s why he has come up short in all the big moments of his career.

Fighting a clever, cunning, determined gladiator like Adamek – who is absolutely obsessed about winning a world title as a heavyweight – will be another huge step for Grant who is now 38.

Who wants it more? Who needs it more? Who sounds more serious? Which fighter will be able to walk through the fire? See if you can decipher those answers from the following quote clues collected at the Wednesday press conference…

Eddie Mustafa Muhammad:

“(The intensity of the Polish crowd) should be no problem. Number one, we’re in the United States [laughs]. It’s not like we’re in Poland. What I’m saying is all you gotta do is go outside the stadium and you’re in Newark. I’m not worried about crowds. That’s the last thing I’m concerned about is crowds.”

What’s the biggest concerns for you? “None. None.”

Key to the fight for Grant? “Michael keeping him on the end of a jab and when he comes in – unload. It’s gonna be right there. Adamek is not a slick fighter where he moves his head, does a lot of slick moves, boopin. He’s not like that. He’s a straight-forward fighter. I don’t think he’s gonna come forward, because when he feels Michael’s power – everybody’s got a plan until they get hit. And when he gets hit his plans go out the window.”

Michael Grant:
“I’m blessed to have the opportunity to fight Tomasz and my man Roger (Bloodworth) over there. No doubt it’s going to be a nice night for the fight community, for the boxing world period. The heavyweight division is sad right now, so I just say, don’t lose hope. Don’t lose hope, because I know the belts are over the water right now, but they’ll be back. They will definitely be back!”
Grant lays out his gameplan for everyone to hear:

“How do I see the fight playing out? Okay let’s play with this…He’s (Adamek) probably going to try to figure out the punching power for the first three or four rounds and then make a decision; ‘Okay do I want to gamble or not’. Meanwhile, while he’s thinking about gambling I’m already gonna be putting power out, dropping hands on him. So then you’re into a ‘what should I do?’ moment. You got to make sure that those decisions don’t make you delayed so bad where you start getting caught. And sometimes when you start getting caught, and getting caught, it messes all the decision making up and that can be very hurtful.”

“I don’t take anything away from Adamek, like I said he’s a helluva light heavyweight champion. But I’m an elite fighter. I’m not like a Jason Estrada or a Chris Arreola, that’s not my level.”

Grant compared Andrew Golota and Adamek styles:

“In those two different styles Golota was a puncher and slightly a boxer, where Adamek is more like a boxer. You know what I’m saying? He’s not a puncher. I’m not saying the fight’s going to be easy with that. He has the strength in that. He became light heavyweight and cruiserweight champion, correct? And so God bless him.”

“My ability is basically what it is. I’m not banking on size and strength.”

I asked Grant what he believes was the finest, sharpest, best performance of his career? He pondered the question for several seconds…
“I was boxing a great round, I feel I was boxing an excellent round in the first round of the Golota fight – until I got caught.”

Roger Bloodworth:

“You can tell its going to be a good fight. We have all the respect in the world for the Grant camp and we took this fight cause Tomasz had to be able to prove he could hang with a big man. So whoever named this ‘The Big Challenge’ may be exactly correct.”

“Tomasz is ready and I expect a great fight.”

“We haven’t thought about what’s next. We’re just thinking about this fight and that’s it.”

Tomasz Adamek:

 ”Sunday we’ll talk about what’s next, but Saturday we have a job.”

“Every fight is very important. Only when you win, you go up. In boxing you can never be second. My whole career I prepare to be the best.”

“I am very excited to be back at Prudential Center. Every fight a couple thousand more people come to see me. Everybody knows me in NJ.”

“I’m ready to fight. When I’m healthy I am very quick, I am dangerous in the ring. I’ve been training very hard for 11 weeks. Size is no bother to me. I had two very good sparring partners. They were tall too. Roger is a very good teacher and I am learning everyday. I am ready.”

(Photos By Scoop Malinowski)

Saturday’s fight from The Prudential Center in Newark, NJ will be televised on pay-per-view for $29.95 by Inegrated Sports (www.integratedsportsnet.com).