By Jim Dower: In a battle of giant 2nd tier heavyweights on Friday night, 6’7″ 252 pound former title challenger Michael Grant (47-4, 35 KO’s) took out 6’8″ Tye Fields (45-3, 41 KO’s) with a big right hand in the 3rd round that sent the 36-year-old Fields down on his back on the canvas at Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino, in Las Vegas, Nevada.. Fields attempted to get up but was too badly hurt to get back to his feet. Referee Joe Cortez quickly halted the fight with a hurt Fields still trying to get up but unable to. Cortez halted the fight st 1:06 of the 3rd.

Grant got the better of the action in the 1st round, landing slow right hands to the head and midsection while a timid southpaw Fields mainly stalked him throwing jabs. Neither of these guys showed any hand speed. It was like watching two fighters in slow motion. Grant had a little bit better hand speed and power, but that wasn’t saying much because Fields was so god awful slow.

In the 2nd round, Grant hurt Fields with a straight hand early in the round. Grant then teed off with additional lead right hands. However, just when it looked like Grant might be on his way to ending the fight, he stopped punching and started taking big lefts to the head and midsection from an energized Fields. The remainder of the round saw Fields landing well. At one point he landed a big left hand to the head of Grant while he was back into a corner. The shot whip-lashed Grant’s head, and for a moment it didn’t look good for Grant.

Grant came back in the 3rd, tagging Fields with a right hook in the opening seconds and then catching him with a straight right hand while Fields was coming forward. Fields responded by firing a jab and continuing to come straight at Grant without any defense. Grant then fired a long right hand that caught Fields perfectly to the head, sending him down flat on his back. Although Fields attempted to make it back to his feet, he was way too hurt to get get to a push himself up off the canvas. The fight was then halted by referee Cortez.

After the fight, an emotional Grant blamed his recent loss to heavyweight contender Tomasz Adamek on a back problem that he had before the fight, saying “Adamek can’t beat me. I’ll kill him, but I was in pain.”

I saw nothing from Grant’s performance last night that would suggest that he could beat Adamek or any of the top contenders. He might be good enough to pick off some of the fringe contenders near the bottom 15, but that’s about it. He’s just too slow.