THE betting on Betfair suggests that James ‘Chunky’ DeGale will avenge his 2006 amateurs defeat to George Groves when the pair come to blows at the O2 Arena on Saturday. Olympic gold medallist DeGale is the 1-3 favourite to come out on top in this ill-tempered ‘Battle of Britain’.
Groves, who has been somewhat overshadowed by DeGale’s British title success, is largely unfancied to beat his arch rival. The 23-year-old is out at 100-30 to inflict a first professional defeat on his cocky opponent.
Chunky has KO’d eight of his last 10 opponents and is available at 8-11 to do so on Saturday night. The 25-year-old is a 4-1 chance for victory by way of judges’ decision. Groves boasts an equally impressive KO record but is currently 13-2 to win by knockout. He is an 11-1 shot to triumph by judges’ decision.
Betfair’s Alex Bake: “The bad blood between these two stems back years, so we should be in for a belter. On paper it looks like a 50-50 match-up, but the punters are getting behind DeGale for this one.”
DeGale v Groves – Betfair bet: 1-3 DeGale, 100-30 Groves, 49-1 the draw
Method of victory – Betfair bet: 8-11 DeGale KO, 4-1 DeGale decision, 13-2 Groves KO, 11-1 Groves decision