According to Grant, ‘bad press’ was the cause of him being pulled from an August 19 meeting with Whyte on the Terence Crawford v Julius Indondo undercard, although the social media response wouldn’t have helped.
The UK boxing fraternity especially, jumped on the fact that Whyte was attempting to put his name up for a world title shot and questioned the calibre of his opponent in this case.
‘The Villain’ has previously cancelled a clash with Mariusz Wach, a contest which initially pleased the masses, but ultimately fell apart as Whyte moved in a different direction.
Promoter Eddie Hearn now faces a further headache to find a decent foe for Whyte, who will make his United States debut at Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln, Nebraska.
On the bout’s collapse, Grant told RingTV.com: “It’s not going to happen. I was told it was because the fight was receiving bad press,” although it was also stated Grant said he, ‘can’t complain,’ and would move on.
Opening up on further on his attempts to keep fighting at 44, Grant believes he still has was it takes to compete despite three straight losses and four in his last six.
“Everybody has an agenda and people gonna talk,” said Grant. “I’ve learned so much in this game. So my skill set isn’t the same as back in my youger days, but I can still crack.
“I know George Foreman got these same questions: ‘Why you doing this?’ And then he knocked Michael Moorer out, at age 45.
“I also talked to Larry Holmes and asked how old he was when he retired. He was 48, still fighting on ESPN, kicking butts and taking names later. People will always talk,” he added.
