The abridged story of Michael Grant reads as follows. A natural, muscle-bound athlete who excelled at baseball, basketball and American football; poor grades forced him to shelve his college dreams and try his hand at boxing. Grant fought just 12 times as an amateur before turning professional and of his first 31 fights, only seven went the distance. He was heavyweight boxing’s next big thing. Until he ran into Lennox Lewis at the turn of the millennium. Michael Grant lands a punch on Obed Sullivan during his win in 1998 and was considered the next big thing Grant came up short when he faced Lennox Lewis at Madison Square Garden in 2000
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Deontay Wilder faces WBC champion Bermane Stiverne in Las Vegas
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Wilder has a perfect professional record of 32 wins all by knock out
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The American has never been beyond the fourth round in a fight
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Michael Grant had a similar record  before he lost to Lennox Lewis
A lot of Americans have been yearning for an @placeholder champion – they want an American champion, they want the excitement.