Adrian Granat had been absent from the big boxing stage for almost eight years. Now the Swedish heavyweight is back and wants to make another run at the top. Just days after his successful ring comeback, the 35-year-old has reunited with his former promoter Erol Ceylan and his Hamburg-based EC Boxpromotion.
Granat impressively demonstrated in Kiel just over a week ago that his punching power has not disappeared during his lengthy layoff. Against Maximiliano Alejandro Sosa, the former IBF International titleholder needed just one round to make a successful return after nearly eight years away from boxing.
However, the fight in Kiel was intended to be much more than a one-off comeback. Granat wants to return to the business and, together with his old and new promoter Erol Ceylan, make another run at the top.
“After eight years, Adrian wants to get back into the business. The fire for boxing is burning inside him again,” says EC promoter Erol Ceylan, who has high hopes for his returning fighter.
Ceylan has set an especially ambitious goal for their partnership: Granat is not expected to spend years fighting his way back through rebuilding bouts, but instead to return to the international level as quickly as possible.
“There is a lot of opportunity in the heavyweight division at the moment. After Usyk relinquished the belts, I see a real chance for Adrian to go all the way to the top and even become world champion,” Ceylan says. “He has the necessary power and works very hard in training. If he is mentally focused, I don’t see anyone he cannot beat.”
The fact that Granat was once regarded as one of Europe’s most intriguing heavyweights is nothing new. The 2.02-meter-tall Swede made a name for himself particularly because of his tremendous punching power. In 2016, he won the IBF International title and for a time appeared on the verge of breaking into the broader world elite.
His career subsequently took a different path, however. After his final appearance in November 2018—a points loss to world-class fighter Otto Wallin in a bout for the European heavyweight championship—Granat disappeared from professional boxing. His return nearly eight years later was therefore all the more surprising.
For Ceylan, it is clear that no time should be wasted given the age of his fighter. “We want to give him one or two more rebuilding fights. After that, he should go directly into fights against the big names and compete for significant titles,” the Hamburg promoter announced.
