Columnist Dean Juipe: Grant on slow road back to limelight

Dean Juipe

Thursday, May 30, 2002 | 11:02 a.m.

Dean Juipe's column appears Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. His boxing notebook appears Thursday. Reach him at juipe@lasvegassun.com or (702) 259-4084.

Craig Hamilton is surprisingly frank when discussing the former heavyweight contender he manages, Michael Grant.

Grant fights Saturday at the Stratosphere and his opponent is the lackluster Anthony Willis. On paper, it's not the greatest fight in the world.

Yet Hamilton says the bout should serve its purpose and inch Grant back toward a limelight he dropped out of when Jameel McCline flattened him with one punch a year ago at Caesars Palace.

"We're not thinking about the upper level of boxing at this minute," Hamilton said Wednesday from his office in Long Island, N.Y. "Right now we want Michael to continue fighting at a rapid pace -- we've got him fighting again July 5 -- against opponents that might not be considered difficult.

"He's being taught tricks he didn't know, and maybe later he'll climb the heavyweight ladder again."

Grant is 33-2 with 24 knockouts and is now being trained by Teddy Atlas.

Willis is 19-10-1 with 13 KOs.

Grant, 29, is back with Atlas after spending the bulk of his career being trained by Don Turner.

"Nothing against Don, but I think after Michael lost to Lennox Lewis (by second-round knockout in 2000) he wanted to move away from him," Hamilton said. "With Teddy, Michael is relearning some things and learning what he didn't know.

"He's learning new techniques that he can use in the ring and we're not going to introduce him to high-level opponents again until he feels comfortable."

Hamilton implies that an assortment of journeymen opponents will bolster Grant's confidence.

"He's young enough to gain something from this," Hamilton said. "It should do him a lot of good.

"Michael is a 10 when it comes to body strength and stamina and work ethic, but maybe only a 4 in ring technique. So we're going back and backtracking a lot, with the hope that he can once again reposition himself in the division."

The one-round loss to McCline was a setback in more ways than one, as Grant also broke an ankle during his fall.

"Looking back, we shouldn't have taken that fight," Hamilton said. "Michael had been off a year after the debacle with Lewis and it was a misstep to fight McCline at that particular time."

The adversity of the defeats and injury have tested Grant, Hamilton admits.

"You go through situations like this in life, where it's easy to blame someone else," he said. "The hardest thing to do is to blame yourself. But if you overcome what's in front of you, you're better and stronger for it.

"In Michael's case, we're hoping that when he does get back (to facing first-rate opposition) he'll be better prepared emotionally and technically."

Also scheduled on the Stratosphere card: Lemuel Nelson, 23-5-1, vs. Michael Davis, 21-9, 10 rounds, junior welterweights; Michael Bennett, 8-2, vs. Chris Hairston, 3-4, six rounds, cruiserweights; Gabe Brown, 12-2, vs. Willie Chapman, 13-15, eight rounds, heavyweights; Jose Perez, 0-5, vs. Luis Galvan, 1-2, four rounds, bantamweights; and a six-round women's cruiserweight bout between Kathy Rivers, 11-2, and Marsha Valley, 9-5-4. First bell is 7:30 p.m.

Local lightweight Justin Juuko (36-6-1) gets the assignment of facing top prospect Miguel Cotto (9-0) as part of the June 22 Marco Antonio Barrera vs. Erik Morales card at the MGM. ... Laila Ali is off her husband's June 7 card in Southaven, Miss., and a pair of cruiserweights with ties to Las Vegas, Arthur Williams and Merqui Sosa, will headline instead. ... HBO has Evander Holyfield facing Hasim Rahman in an interesting heavyweight showdown Saturday from Atlantic City. In essence, the loser will drop out of the championship picture. Holyfield is 37-5-2 and, at 39, battling old age. Rahman is 35-3 and coming off a four-round loss to Lennox Lewis last November in Las Vegas. Sports books here generally have Rahman at a minus 170 and Holyfield at a plus 140.