Grant Brothers - Otis & Howard

“I’m fighting for different reasons now,” explains former Middleweight Champion Otis Grant about his recent comeback to the ring and his bid to regain a world title. “ I’m not just fighting for myself anymore – I’m fighting for my family’s future.” And that future is very much dependent on the long-term success of his newly established boxing club. Located on Montreal’s West Island, Grant Brothers Gym makes its home in an industrial park off St. Jean’s Road, boasts several thousand feet of floor space, a brand new ring, an extensive selection of training bags and so far has gotten off to a flying start. “It’s always easier when you have a name and a reputation,” explains brother and co-owner Howard Grant, when asked about his rapidly growing stable of new fighters. “Otis is very well known and respected in this city and many young fighters would jump at the chance to train with him.”

And so far this reputation has led to a rapidly growing membership of around 50 competitors with 11 pros, including top prospects such as undefeated Joachim Alcine (Canadian and NABA Champ), Herman Ngoudjo ( 8-0 ), and of course the former WBO World Middleweight Champ himself, Otis “Magic” Grant. Now 4 fights and 4 wins into a comeback, this local boxing prodigy once again finds himself in the top 10 world rankings (WBC #4) and is now looking eagerly toward another world title shot. “It’s my second time around,” says Grant with a smile. “And I may be a little older but I’m a lot wiser. My training has changed,” he explains. “I can’t work as hard as I used to when I was younger so I have concentrated more on technique and strength training instead of just relying on long hours in the gym.” And even his strength training has become more scientific as Grant now employs a conditioning coach to design his workouts. Dr. Andre Kulesza ( Ph.D. - sports sciences ) meets with Grant once a week to put him through an intense supervised workout and then gives his star client a series of exercises to do on his own until their next scheduled meeting. “It’s been an eye-opening experience,” admits Grant. “And I feel like I’m in the best shape of my life.” Quite a statement from a man who will turn 37 before Christmas/04 and one that was recently put to the test where it counts the most.

On December 11, Grant faced the toughest challenge of his comeback in Costa Rica’s Henry Porras. Presented by the Casino de Montreal this scheduled 12-rounder would vault the winner into the upper echelons of the WBC and contention for a title shot in the very near future. “I knew he was a dangerous fighter so I was cautious,” admits Grant after pounding out a 12 round unanimous decision win over his younger rival. “I was trying too hard in the beginning but listened to my brother, settled down in the middle rounds and just started to box. And box he did as the local favourite looked quite sharp, landing fast, clean, sharp combinations against Porras, and often spinning his opponent’s head in the process. Grant’s body looked lean and chiseled, the hand speed and head movement were still there and he may have even slightly increased his explosive punching power – probably as a result of his newly acquired strength-training regime.
If this former world-champ has lost anything it may be confined to his apparent inability to mount any truly sustained aggression. Grant used to be a marginally busier fighter in his youth and now appears to fight mostly in spurts, relying even more on his defensive skills in order to make opponents miss. And in this latest contest those skills served him well as Porras, definitely the busier of the two, missed a lot of punches as a result of Grant’s elusive defense, and just couldn’t score enough points to pull out a victory. Grant, on the other hand, was often laser-like in his accuracy and while certainly not throwing as much as his opponent landed very clean, well-conceived punches – The kind that judges simply cannot ignore.

It will be interesting to see if Grant, despite being faced with larger opponents and advancing age, can effectively increase his activity level as he continues his storied comeback - He will almost certainly need it as he climbs back up the ladder towards the belts.

And according to promoter Yvan Michel, Grant’s next step in that direction should include another fight in March ’05 and, just as the fight with Porras, will be another “must-win”. “If all goes well we should be in the position for a title shot in about 1 year,” adds Michel. “We would like to get Otis into a position where world champ Marcus Beyer or Danny Green simply can’t avoid him and will have to give him a shot.” I’m sure that a successful bid against Beyer would be especially sweet for Michel since the German fighter relieved another star client and former world champ, Eric Lucas, of his belt in a very controversial win in Germany a couple of years ago – one that many ringside observers felt the Canadian probably deserved to win.

Lucas, who has also embarked on a comeback bid of his own, may be on an eventual collision course with Grant in the not-too-distant future. The fight, if it ever happens, would hopefully involve a world title belt, but even if no major hardware was on the line it would still generate a tremendous amount of interest in the Montreal area and probably pack the Bell Centre to the same extent as Ouelette vs. Hilton did a number of years ago.

But of course there’s still some successful work to be done by both men before such an event can occur and when asked about more immediate future opponents, Grant is candid, “Whoever my promoters put in front of me – all I’m asking for is the opportunity.”