Adrian Granat
We all know that Sweden isn't a country we immediately connect with boxing. Whilst they have had some notable names, including Ingemar Johansson of course, they haven't really been able to create many talented fighters and especially not in recent years. This looks set to change however with the emergence of two potential Heavyweight stars.
One of those is Otto Wallin (6-0, 4) who many are viewing as a potential world champion in the making, the other is Adrian Granat (2-0, 2) who we are lead to believe is the more promising of the two fighters.
Aged 22 and hailing from Malmo, Granat is a fighter at the very early stages of his professional career though is already being dubbed a "Supertalangen", or "Super Talent" by those in the Swedish boxing press.
Much of the excitement about Granat comes from his amateur background. He was a a 2-time Swedish amateur national champion, winning the title in 2009 and 2012, and a 2-time HSK Box Cup Cadet champion, winning that title in 2006 and 2007.
Although Granat doesn't seem to have competed in any major international events he does seem to have had the talent to have given a few questions to some of the top amateurs. Unfortunately however he was lacking amateur experience despite his numerous championship wins. The Swedish amateur scene simply wasn't good enough to keep a man like Granat busy and he is reported to have just fought 34 bouts in the unpaid ranks.
One of those is Otto Wallin (6-0, 4) who many are viewing as a potential world champion in the making, the other is Adrian Granat (2-0, 2) who we are lead to believe is the more promising of the two fighters.
Aged 22 and hailing from Malmo, Granat is a fighter at the very early stages of his professional career though is already being dubbed a "Supertalangen", or "Super Talent" by those in the Swedish boxing press.
Much of the excitement about Granat comes from his amateur background. He was a a 2-time Swedish amateur national champion, winning the title in 2009 and 2012, and a 2-time HSK Box Cup Cadet champion, winning that title in 2006 and 2007.
Although Granat doesn't seem to have competed in any major international events he does seem to have had the talent to have given a few questions to some of the top amateurs. Unfortunately however he was lacking amateur experience despite his numerous championship wins. The Swedish amateur scene simply wasn't good enough to keep a man like Granat busy and he is reported to have just fought 34 bouts in the unpaid ranks.
Last year Granat signed a professional contract with Malmo's very own Winning Boxing Club alongside Light Heavyweight prospect Sven Fornling and immediately the club was excited about the potential they had on their hands.
Soon after signing his professional contract Granat debuted and score a second round TKO over Poland's Patryk Kowoll. Although Kowoll is a limited opponent he had never been stopped as quickly as he was by Granat. Since then Granat has added a second TKO as he stopped Gianluca Sirci, also in 2 rounds as he continues to develop and improve. Whilst the Kowoll and Sirci have been the one bouts that Granat has fought in since turning professional there are big hopes for him and it seems that they are happy to develop him in the gym behind closed doors. This has seen Granat sparring with both Romanian contender Christian Hammer and Granat's trainer, and former Swedish boxing icon, Armand Kranjc himself a former WBO Middleweight world champion. It would seem likely that Granat is going to be given a lot of time to develop and we may not see him in a genuine test for a few years but we will certainly be keeping our ear close to the ground when it comes to following his progress. It seems likely he will be kept active, at least in the gym, and kept on the straight and narrow by Kranjc who appears to have taken him under his wing. For those wanting to see Granat in action Young Future Magazine (YFmagazine) have published a video of Granat's debut which came late last year. We'll admit it's not the most impressive debut in history but there is enough of Granat on show to see that he has some raw traits and also throws some lovely body shots. He clearly has fast hands though at the moment he's defensively naive and probably needs to mature physically before being moved on. With maturity however it's hard to imagine him not having genuinely hurtful power on his punches especially the right hook to the body which we think may become his signature shot. |
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