Lewis looks sharp ahead of Grant clash
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Your support makes all the difference.Britain's Lennox Lewis was as crisp with his responses as he was with his punches during an open workout at Caesar's Pocono Resort.
The undisputed heavyweight champion is in the final weeks of training for his title bout with Michael Grant at New York's Madison Square Garden on April 29.
Lewis, 33, who is expected to weigh in at just under 250 pounds (113 kilograms) for the fight, appeared fresh and looked fit and muscular in his four-round sparring session with Jameel McCline, who also has worked in the Grant camp.
"He (Lewis) has been working on his speed, and his speed will bother Michael Grant," said McCline, who is 6-foot-6 (1.98 meters) and 257 pounds (116 kilograms). "He is ready to go."
Lewis (35-1-1, 27 KOs) will be making his first title defense since he recorded a 12-round unanimous decision over Evander Holyfield on Nov. 20.
Lewis, who drew with Holyfield during a 12-round bout in New York last March, has heard the clamor from the Holyfield camp about a third fight.
"They can't beat me in the ring, so they have tried to beat me outside the ring," Lewis said of Holyfield's camp on Tuesday. "If I boxed him 10 times, I will beat him all 10 times."
Lewis who stands 6-foot-5, will battle a taller, larger boxer in the 6-foot-7 (2-meter), 250-pound (113-kilogram) 27-year-old Grant (31-0-0, 22 KOs), who retained the NABF heavyweight title with a 10-round knockout of Andrew Golata on Nov. 20.
"Grant is one of the up-and-coming heavyweights in the game," Lewis said. "We are concerned about his size, but I have sparring partners his size.
"He has a fast jab and good quickness. That's what concerns us. But his biggest weakness can be experience. He hasn't been what I have been through."
When asked about his weakness, Lewis smiled and said, "Apple pie. I have been eating too much of it."
Lewis knows he has reached the top, but he believes he still has a high ceiling as a boxer.
"I'm the undisputed heavyweight champion right now," he said. "But I am improving each fight. I can't say that I have reached the pinnacle yet."
Lewis also entertained thoughts of a meeting Mike Tyson in the ring.
"He is boxing all over the world right now and if we both keep on winning, we can meet up soon," Lewis said. "But I'm ready. Tyson's name is synonymous with money. I definitely want some of that dough."
Lewis' trainer, Emanuel Steward, believes his fighter is ready.
"Michael Grant is a good fighter with a good job and he punches hard," he said. "But Lennox Lewis is too much for Grant. Height doesn't bother him. Lennox fights better against taller fighters."
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