Dillian Whyte US debut v Michael Grant??

On the 19th August at the Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln Nebraska, once beaten heavyweight contender Dillian Whyte (20-1, 15 Ko's) will make his US debut on the undercard of the Terrence Crawford v Julius Indongo unification clash, marketing himself to the American audience while closing in on a possible title shot towards the end of the year.. The only blemish thus far, was in his 17th bout, just under 2 years ago, losing gallantly in a shootout with the now unified champion Anthony Joshua. Since then the Jamaican born Whyte has had 4 successful outings, most notably stopping Ian Lewison and picking up a British title last October, and more recently a highly entertaining split decision victory over former British, commonwealth and European champion Derrick Chisora in December. Since signing with Matchroom Dillian appears to have grown into a more responsible fighter, training more diligently, following a more regimented diet plan and leaving no stone unturned with the commitment of a world class operator. An eye catching performance on this stage could put his name on thousands of lips stateside, further raising his international profile at a critical time in his career.. Dillians opponent is however a familiar one.
Michael Grant is a household name, an all American who was once considered the heir apparent predecessor to Lennox Lewis' throne, having tasted defeat for the first time back in a 2000 title challenge at the hands of Lewis, suffering a humbling second round knockout.. Many sceptics thought that the wheels had come off the 6 foot 6 Grant, and with his confidence low, he would go on to lose twice more by stoppage within the next 3 years. However following a knockout loss to the hard punching Dominick Guinn in 2003, Michael went on an 8 fight, 7 year winning streak, next losing only by a slim points margin to Tomasz Adameck in 2010. A year later Grant would spring to life with knockout wins over 7 Footer Tye Fields and former IBF champ Franz Botha, although inactivity would eventually hurt Michael and stall his return. After 2 years out, he'd suffer back to back losses at the hands of Carlos Takam and Manuel Charr, and more recently, following a 3 year ring absence Grant would suffer a terrible 2 round knockout to Krzysztof Zimnoch in Poland, as recent as 3 months ago.. At (48-7, 36 Ko's) Michaels better days are possibly 15 years behind him, at a time when he scored what was probably his last serious victory of note over a live opponent in Robert Davis back in 2002. Unfortunately it's a reluctance to walk away from the sport that has landed him another opportunity to lose to a promising fighter on live Tv..