Chicago’s Adrian Granados in World Title Hunt

Anytime someone mentions the city of Chicago visions of skyscrapers, baseball and good food come to mind, but seldom does anyone envision world champion prizefighters.

Surprisingly, few world champion prizefighters can be claimed from the nation’s third biggest city.

Adrian “El Tigre” Granados could end that drought for men.

The Chicago-based Granados (20-6-2, 14 KOs) met with the media at Justin Fortune’s Gym in Hollywood to vent a little. He aims to usurp Danny “Swift” Garcia’s (34-2, 20 KOs) position at the top of the welterweight ladder on April 20.

“I’m tired of hearing people say that I put up a good fight and that I’m an entertaining fighter,” said Granados, 29, a slim welterweight. “I want to get this win and get all the opportunities they’re getting for Danny Garcia.”

Granados says he’s living in Mexico now, but his roots have long been in Chicago whose only current world champion is Jessica McCaskill, a WBC super lightweight titlist.

Chicago’s few

Over the decades fighters with ties to Chicago that won world titles were few.

Back in the Depression era Barney Ross won the lightweight and super lightweight world titles by defeating the tricky Tony Canzoneri at Chicago Stadium in 1933. Canzoneri had the unusual style of fighting with his hands down and was pretty dominant in his time until he met Ross.

Ross, a Jewish fighter, then moved up a weight division to challenge Jimmy McLarnin for the welterweight championship and won in May 1934 in New York. Five months later in a rematch in New York, he lost. Two years later he fought Izzy Jannazzo for the welterweight title and won by decision in New York. He defended it once against Ceferino Garcia and then met the great Henry Armstrong and lost by decision. Ross never fought again.

Others have won world titles with connections to Chicago. Southpaw wizard Montell Griffin won the WBC light heavyweight world title in 1997 against Roy Jones Jr. Jesus “El Matador” Chavez won the WBC super featherweight world title in 2003 and the IBF in 2005. Sadly, that day he won the IBF came against Leavander Johnson who died from injuries endured in that title fight days later. Chavez was never the same after that fight.

Another former champion from Chicago is Carlos “The King” Molina the super welterweight. Now 35, he won the IBF title in Las Vegas against Ishe Smith in 2013. Other champions may exist, but surprisingly not many more.

Never Boring

Granados eagerly hopes to become next.

So far, the hard-fighting Chicagoan has slugged it out with East L.A.’s Frankie Gomez, Amir Imam, Adrien Broner and Shawn Porter. In each and every fight Granados has given judges pause to consider the victor.

“You can easily say he could have been the winner in every fight,” said Tom Brown of TGB Promotions. “He could be an undefeated fighter if things had gone his way.”

Anyone who has seen Granados in action knows he is never boring. That’s not enough for him.

“I’m tired of getting the short end of the stick,” said Granados who is training in Ventura, Calif. for this fight. “I’ve always felt I belonged there with all of those top welterweights.”

In two weeks Chicago’s Granados gets his opening but standing in his way is Philadelphia-bred  Puerto Rican Garcia, a former two-division world champion.

Puerto Ricans and Mexicans always bring out the best in each other.

“They always go to war,” said Brown.

Granados doesn’t deny his intentions.

“I’m going for the knockout,” he said.

It’s the Chicago way.

Photo credit: Alonzo Coston

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