By Edward Chaykovsky
Carl Froch believes his domestic rival George Groves was physically and mentally damaged by the knockout defeats that he suffered in their two fight series. Froch's last ring appearance before retiring was last May's one-punch knockout of Groves before a crowd of 80,000 fans at Wembley.
Groves has notched two victories since that defeat and on Saturday night he will challenge Badou Jack for the WBC super middleweight championship - a belt previously held by Froch.
The fight between Groves (21-2, 16 KOs) and Jack will take place on Showtime Pay-Per-View undercard to the Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Badou Jack (19-1-1, 12 KOs) from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
"I think Groves is finished now, he's got coated twice, he's not the man and fighter he used to be," Froch said to scribe Nick Parkinson. "I think he tarnished himself fighting me. Unfortunately for him, his defining moment is getting KO'd at Wembley and it's not the best way to go out, especially mentally."
"He's lost power and speed, mentally he's a bit on edge, he doesn't seem himself, and if mentally you're not right will you train properly? And then come fight night you're not the same."
Froch still says Groves is very capable of beating Jack, because he feels the reigning champion is not a world class fighter.
Jack has also bounced back from adversity after getting knocked out last year in one round by Dereck Edwards. He's won three fights in a row including his April victory over previously undefeated Anthony Dirrell to capture the WBC title.
"He has every chance of winning that fight with Jack. It's not an easy fight, it's a fight he could lose, but Badou Jack is very, very limited, he's not really a world-class operator who has a world title. I saw Jack's fight against Anthony Dirrell and it wasn't a top-level, high-quality fight," Froch said.
