At age 35, heavyweight boxer Adrian Granat is ready to give it another shot—and is making big plans with his promoter, Erol Ceylan.
Adrian Granat had been absent from the big boxing stage for nearly eight years. Now the Swedish heavyweight is back and ready to give it another shot. Just a few days after his successful return to the ring, the 35-year-old has once again teamed up with his former promoter, Erol Ceylan, and his Hamburg-based EC Boxpromotion.
Just over a week ago in Kiel, Granat (16-2, 15 KOs) impressively demonstrated that his punching power has not diminished even after such a long hiatus. Against Maximiliano Alejandro Sosa, the former IBF International titleholder needed only one round, marking a successful return after nearly eight years away from boxing.
Aiming for the Top
But the fight in Kiel was meant to be far more than a one-off comeback. Granat wants to get back in the game and, together with his longtime and new promoter Erol Ceylan, aim for the top once again.
“After eight years, Adrian wants to get back in the game. The fire for boxing is burning inside him again,” says EC promoter Erol Ceylan, who has high hopes for his returnee. Ceylan articulates their shared goal in remarkably aggressive terms: Granat shouldn’t be put through years of preliminary fights, but should return to boxing at the international level as quickly as possible.
“A chance to become world champion”
“There are a lot of possibilities in the heavyweight division right now. Now that Usyk has relinquished his belts, I see a real chance for Adrian to rise to the very top and even become world champion,” says Ceylan. “He has the power he needs and trains very hard. If his head’s in the game, I don’t see anyone he can’t beat.”
It’s been known for a long time that Granat was once considered one of the most interesting European heavyweights. The 2.02-meter-tall Swede made a name for himself particularly with his tremendous punching power. In 2016, he secured the IBF International title and at times was on the verge of breaking into the world’s elite.
However, his career took a different turn after his last fight in November 2018. Following a points loss in the European heavyweight title bout against world-class fighter Otto Wallin, Granat disappeared from professional boxing. This made his return nearly eight years later all the more surprising.
For Ceylan, it’s clear that, given his protégé’s age, there’s no time to waste. “We want to give him one or two warm-up fights. After that, he’ll go straight up against the big names and fight for major titles,” the Hamburg-based promoter announced.
Text: Press Release / EC Boxpromotion