Jordan Grant was overwhelmed by the reception he received fighting on home turf at Hamilton Accies’ stadium.
The Eddlewood boxer was the star attraction at the ‘Rise of the Champions’ event at New Douglas Park on Saturday night.
Grant stepped out in front of a raucous home support to fight Scott Williams just a couple of months after hitting the headlines for his bout against Tommy Fury.
He defeated Williams on points to continue a positive start to his professional career and he was blown away by the love that he received from the crowd.
“The hairs on the back of my neck stood up when I was standing in the tunnel,” said Grant. “The roar when I emerged was deafening.
“It was like nothing that I’d ever experienced before and it was actually pretty overwhelming.
“It was an unbelievable experience. It was good to be a part of it and everybody locally seemed to buzz off the event.
“I think it was exactly what everybody needed after a difficult year with the pandemic when people couldn’t get out to enjoy themselves.
“It was good to see everybody in good spirits again.”
Grant secured a win over Williams on points in front of his card to take his professional record to three wins and one defeat - against Fury.
The judges scored the contest three rounds to one in Grant’s favour but the 23-year-old wasn’t overjoyed by his performance.
He believes that the magnitude of the occasion got to him and he insists that he’s got plenty to work upon.
He said: “I’ve got a lot of bones to pick out of the fight. I think I probably let the occasion get to me a little bit and I was too eager to get the knockout - that comes with experience.
“It was an alright performance and I felt in complete control but I got caught with a couple of silly punches.
“I’m still learning because I’m early into my career and I don’t have a lot of amateur experience.
“I’m a bit hard on myself and Williams had more boxing experience than me but I just need to get back to working hard.
“I need to be a bit more patient and I don’t need to rush things. The Fury fight is over now and I need to put that to the back of my mind.
The light heavyweight is eager to gain more experience in the ring by taking on more fights this year.
Grant has already held discussions with promoter Sam Kynoch about his next bout and it might not be far away.
He said: “I just want to take it fight by fight and see where I end up. I’m not going to dream too big because that’s the only way that you can look at it.
“I’ve already spoken to Sam and he told me to stay in the gym so I might be fighting again soon.
“I want to fight as soon as possible and I want to be out every few months. I need boxing in my life because it keeps me grounded and focused.”
Grant loved the experience of fighting at New Douglas Park and he’s targeting a return in the future.
He added: “I’d love to be back - 100 percent. It was a great event and it’s something that they’re looking at doing more often.”
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