IT wouldn’t be a respectable heavyweight fight without a little pre-fight controversy. That’s why it should come as no surprise that three days before Lennox Lewis and Michael Grant meet for the heavyweight championship, there is a disagreement over equipment that could lead to Grant dropping out of the fight.
Grant, the unbeaten challenger, held his public workout yesterday at the Garden’s Theatre and talked about how his attitude and confidence will lead him to victory over Lewis, the reigning champion. Yet, behind the scenes his camp was fuming at the New York State Athletic Commission’s insistence that both fighters wear the same gloves, and Lewis, being the champion, has selected 10-ounce Reyes gloves.
Throughout his career, Grant has worn … what else … Grant boxing gloves and is reluctant to change for the biggest fight of his career. His camp is claiming that the Reyes gloves don’t fit properly over his large muscular hands and that if some compromise can’t be reached Grant will pull out of the fight.
“There’s no controversy between the camps,” Craig Hamilton, Grant’s co-manager, said. “We’re perfectly willing to let Lennox wear what he wants to wear and he has no issue with Mike wearing Grant gloves. We’re just hoping the commission agrees. But we’re not going to wear a glove that doesn’t fit. That’s out. We’ll tell the commission there won’t be a fight. If they’re going to ask us to wear a glove that doesn’t fit, I can assure you this kid is not going in the ring. We’re not going to risk getting his hands broken with a bad glove.”
Hamilton said none of the eight pairs of Reyes gloves sent to Grant through the promoter, Main Events, was acceptable. The smaller Reyes gloves have a reputation of being more of a puncher’s glove, while the larger Grant glove is more of a blocking glove. But that, according to Hamilton, has nothing to do with Grant’s complaint.
“All I can tell you is (the Grant glove) fits,” he said. “That’s the key issue here.”
The scary part is that the much-maligned New York State Athletic Commission must resolve the matter by tomorrow’s weigh-in without it becoming a full blown problem. There is no rule on the books that says fighters have to wear the same gloves. In fact, when Lewis met Evander Holyfield for the heavyweight title in March 1999 at the Garden, the fighters wore different gloves.
However, a source from Main Events said yesterday that fight was different because Lewis and Holyfield each shared a piece of the title. With Lewis entering this fight as the champ, the commission has given him the choice of what gloves to wear.
“Grant has worn the same gloves ever since he started fighting,” said the Main Events source. “But the difference now is that he’s fighting for the championship of the world and it’s usually the champion’s choice on what gloves to wear. I can’t imagine this issue blowing a fight of this magnitude. What the answer is will come when the commission makes a ruling.”
Hamilton said he’ll bring all eight pairs of Reyes gloves to the weigh-in, if necessary, to prove his point. “We’ll bring them and demonstrate that they don’t fit,” he said. “What’s the old O.J. line? If they don’t fit, you must acquit. These gloves don’t fit.”
Whatever gloves Grant ends up wearing, you get the feeling he’s going to test them on Lewis’ face as often as possible. “He doesn’t like pressure,” Grant (31-0 with 22 knockouts) said of Lewis (35-1-1 with 27 KOs). “You have to make him fight. By being the right size (6-foot-7) with a long reach, my punches are going to rain over him and he’s going to have to defend himself. My job is to impose my will on him.”
Grant did some light sparring yesterday, unusual for a fight of this magnitude. His trainer, Don Turner, did it to keep his fighter sharp and relieve some of the anxiety. This is Grant’s first mega-fight, but he says he won’t be awed by the spotlight.
“When the fight starts, it’s just me and the other fighter,” he said. “When I get tagged, I’m just trying to get back at the person that tagged me. I can deal when the kitchen gets hot. I can deal with the pressure.”
