Boxing’s Greats of the States | Minnesota: Will Grigsby

Boxers come from every corner of the globe. Sometimes, fighters are products of their environment, favoring styles prevalent in the country or state from which they hail. Various regions of the United States are considered factories for great fighters, though that certainly is not the case with each state. In this weekly Sherdog.com series, the spotlight will shine on the best boxer of all-time from each of the 50 states. Fighters do not necessarily need to be born in a given state to represent it; they simply need to be associated with it.

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When the numbers are crunched and research is complete, it becomes clear the state of Minnesota has a far deeper history with the Sweet Science than one might expect. Will Grigsby for a variety of reasons remains one of the most overlooked fighters of his generation.

Grigsby fought for nearly 20 years, but his career covered only 24 professional fights. When he did fight, the Saint Paul, Minnesota, native made it count. After losing to eventual hall of famer Michael Carbajal in his second pro appearance on Feb. 24, 1989, Grigsby disappeared from the sport for some five years. When he returned, the man they called “Steel Will” came into his own. Grigsby captured the vacant IBF junior flyweight title with a unanimous decision over Ratanapol Sor Vorapin in 1998 and defended it once before surrendering it to an all-time great in Ricardo Lopez a little less than a year later.

Issues out of the ring kept Grigsby on the sidelines for much of the next five years, though he reclaimed the IBF belt at 108 pounds with a unanimous decision over Victor Burgos in May 2005. Eight months later, in his first title defense, he ceded the junior flyweight throne to Ulises Solis. A two-time world champion, Grigsby finished his career with an 18-4-1 record, with seven knockouts and one no-contest. Had he been more active in his prime, he might have gone down as one of the best lighter-weight fighters of the last 25 years.

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