Columnist Ron Kantowski: Technology could give boxers a lift

Thursday, April 27, 2000 | 10:08 a.m.

Ron Kantowski's column appears Thursday. Reach him at ron@lasvegassun.com or 259-4088.

Even watching on television, the knockdown looked incredibly vicious. When Andrew Golota unleashed a perfect shot to the jaw that almost knocked Michael Grant out of the ring and into another galaxy during their heavyweight fight last Nov. 20, those sitting at ringside said it sounded as if a bomb exploded -- and Grant's chin was Iraqi headquarters.

No way does Grant get up from that, I thought aloud, after watching the big guy get his block knocked off as if he were a Rock 'em, Sock 'em robot.

But Grant, who had never been down, did get up. And by the 10th round, Grant was playing the Blue Bomber to Golota's Red Rocker. He gradually took control of the fight and when it ended, he practically had Golota in tears -- again. The Foul Pole (remember those low blows against Riddick Bowe?), who nearly had a breakdown on the day of his fight with Lennox Lewis that ended with Golota on his keister in the first round, simply quit against Grant after being knocked down.

But had Grant not been able to survive that brutal first-round knockdown, it might be Golota -- and not Grant -- who would be trading blows with Lewis Saturday night in Madison Square Garden with the latter's heavyweight titles at stake.

The only assumptions? Either that big punch from Golota didn't have all the kielbasa behind it, or Grant's jaw is lined with carbon fiber or some other leather-defying space-age polymer.

Actually, the latter may not be far from the truth.

In something of a revelation (or a thinly veiled plot to make a quick buck), a story on the sports business wire this week suggested that Grant's high-tech mouthpiece might be at least partly responsible for his resiliency.

For the past two years, Grant has worn a device called the WIPSS Jaw Joint Protector. Like its title, the contraption is somewhat of a mouthful. It's an upper and lower mouthpiece which is so large that it forces Grant's mouth open when he fights.

But that's also by design. Whereas the TV commentators think Grant looks tired with his mouth agape, he's actually taking in more oxygen, at least according to the manufacturers of the mouthpiece, WIPSS Products of Pennsylvania. Keep that in mind if Grant looks winded in the early rounds Saturday night.

But the real selling point of the mouthpiece, according to the manufacturers and the World Boxing Association, which endorses it, is that it positions a fighter's jaw in such a way that it is not in direct contact with the base of the skull. That supposedly reduces the risk of the jaw bone crashing into the brain and other vital blood vessels upon impact, which often causes knockouts and in a worst-case scenario, may result in brain damage.

If that's the case, Grant's mouthpiece should become standard equipment. And if it isn't the case? Well, if nothing else, Grant may at least think he has a bit of a safety blanket to fall back on.

In a sport where psychological warfare is almost as important as the tactical kind, that may be as crucial as a good right hand.