By Terence Dooley
George Groves will make his Las Vegas debut when he takes on an as yet unnamed opponent on the undercard of Juan Diaz versus Juan Manuel Marquez at the Mandalay Bay Casino and Resort on the 31st of July. Groves has fought abroad once before – a points win over Kanstantsin Makhankou in Germany – and the Londoner believes that further foreign soil experience will give his career a major boost.
“Yeah, can’t wait”, answered the 9-0 (7) boxer when asked about his Las Vegas date, “the training is well on the way – I’m looking forward to another great experience. I’ve been amongst stars on this side but being with the stars in the States, where all the best fighters are, will be great. I can’t wait to get out there and take my place on a big show in Vegas – it doesn’t get much better than this.”
“Not as yet,” said Groves when asked if he could reveal the name of his opponent. “I leave that to Adam Booth, he hasn’t said anything yet but I’m not fussed really. I want a good opponent, I’m not just going out there for the bragging rights, I want to work and get some good experience to bring back over to title fights here.”
Until recently, Groves was considered a novice pro only for this perception to shift during his sixth-round Commonwealth super-middleweight title win over the accomplished Charles Adamu back in April. The 22-year-old was thankful of the chance to display his skills against a name opponent as well as feeling satisfied with the result.
“He is a strong, experienced, wild-swinging fighter who has gone the distance with some great fighters; I knew that no mistakes could be made, as always, because one mistake can cost you big when you move up the levels. I had to be defensively aware at all times, especially when putting my shots in, and though I didn’t learn anything in particular it was good to practice those skills in the last fight, which I haven’t been able to do in the previous fights.”
He added: “I improved in the preparations for that fight, training and working towards a twelve round fight was something new. Preparing for that type of fight and opponent was a bit weird at first, you’ve got to focus on something specific and now I’m getting back to preparing without knowing who my opponent is, this stops me from becoming too one-track and only having one opponent and style in mind.”
Groves won the ABA middleweight title in 2007 and 2008, he also holds an amateur win over professional rival James DeGale; ‘Chunky’ recently dismissed Groves as ‘The ginger kid’; George was equally dismissive of DeGale’s early performances in the paid ranks.
“James is improving, which is nice, and as long as he keeps on winning then we can get it on down the line,” admitted Groves. “If I had a pound coin for every time someone asked me when I’m going to beat DeGale I’d never have to box again – the public wants it. This will match any ticket selling pay-per-view event in years to come, everyone wants to see that fight.
“There is a genuine grudge match there, everything that is said comes from the heart, everything I’ve said about him and everything he’s said about me is what we see as the truth. I can’t wait to bash him up one day.
“It is not fake. People see it through it when, all of a sudden, two friends become enemies before a fight and then are friends again after all the build-up and everything, all this talk is from the heart, James doesn’t live that far away from me, we are from the same area, boxed out of the same gyms, I know all his dirty secrets and same for him. James can put on a good front but if we fought I’d expose all his flaws, he knows deep down that I’ve got his number, he’s never beat me and I don’t know if he can live with that.
“We were sparring partners and etcetera but had nothing more than a good, healthy rivalry, but no one wants to be Olympic champion one day and then not even the best super-middleweight in their own gym the next day – he thought he was the best in the world but wasn’t even top in his gym and that didn’t sit well with him, I don’t think he can even bear it now. From then on we’ve been eager and willing to get a fight on.”
Groves’ boundless confidence has been strengthened during the heat of sparring; he’s taken on David Haye, Giacobbe Fragomeni and, more recently, Carl Froch in training – valuable experiences for the young boxer, who was quick to confirm the rumour that he was floored by Froch during their sessions.
“(It was) fantastic,” smiled Groves when asked for his assessment on his sessions with Froch. “I did quite a few rounds with Froch; you are in great company there as he is at the highest level, fighting the best guys in the world. Carl lost his last fight on points but has beaten everyone else they put in front of him. That kind of sparring is priceless at my stage. I’m still learning for the next couple of years so if I can get as much of that sparring as possible then I won’t be worried getting in with those big names in the future.”
“I sparred with Carl up in Sheffield and him being a granite hard hitting champion at the time, and me going up there not switched on, he caught me with a right hand over the top and I took a flash knee, which I am quite happy to admit to,” revealed Groves.
“Certain people have said I’m chinny and will never make it as a pro but I’ve been dropped three times in twelve years of boxing and once in sparring to Carl Froch, WBC champion at the time, so that is pretty decent. I’ve sparred with loads of heavy punchers so I’ve never been worried about my chin. I’m not fussed with taking the odd shot, you can’t go into the shower and not get wet,” he asserted.
Groves’ trainer, Adam Booth, must have learned a lot about his man during those rounds of sparring, George confirmed that Booth had to temper the red-head’s natural ire after the flash knockdown against Froch.
“One thing that Adam spotted straight away, and which I didn’t understand, was that my reaction to getting hit was to fly straight back into him and try to get even, you don’t need to do that, you take a couple of seconds to compose yourself and try to be smart but the instinct is to get back in and get even,” he admitted.
“I’ve worked on that and it is now something I’m Ok with. I think Carl said that I’m one of the only people who he’s sparred that doesn’t have fear in their eyes, he said I’m cool, calm and collected, that was nice and of him and is exactly how I felt.
“Carl is the best in the world at what he does, you can’t tense up and panic, you have to be relaxed and I didn’t want to just work behind the jab and keep my distance. Carl is good at fighting so I wanted to get stuck in and work on his strengths and improve my weaknesses in defence by staying in range with one of the best guys in the world. No point just getting guys who never win anything because my defence will only be as good as what they give back. If you can stand with guys like Froch, and the others I’ve mentioned then you get to work on your problems.”
Groves recently threw down the gauntlet to British champion Paul Smith, who is looking for an opponent after a projected fight with EBU boss Brian Magee fell through. George, who has yet to register his tenth win, would be a precocious choice of opponent; Groves, though, feels that he would hold all the aces should a fight with Smith come to fulfilment.
“Paul Smith is looking for an opponent. I’m next in line. It would be a good fight, which is something he hasn’t been involved with in a while – it would do him a favour to box someone like me, who will come and put on a show. I don’t maul, I don’t hold and don’t employ those sort of tactics, whether he does the same I don’t know,” he mused.
“It would be a step forward in the division, plus a chance to pick up a new title. I am not going to insult him or anything like that but I make a point of telling it like it is. Nothing against Paul, I don’t dislike him, I just want his title.”
Groves’ confident patter is reminiscent of a young David Haye, who fast-tracked himself to the top of the cruiserweight division by taking on grizzled veterans and calling for the big fights early, although David bit off more than he could chew against Carl Thompson, still the only man to have defeated Haye as a pro. George, like Haye, believes that a lot of this confidence is down to the careful guidance of Adam Booth.
“I believe everything he says to me”, said Groves when speaking about his mentor, “and I don’t think I’ve felt like about a trainer before. Everything he says comes true, it comes right, he pays attention to every detail and is very aware, he takes that approach into training and I do believe in what he says. It is good to have that comfort and trust in someone. It is great to have a coach that you trust, if you don’t he can be preparing you for a big fight and those doubts will grow and can give you second-thoughts, and then you get caught in the fight.
“The way we work is spot-on; Adam knows exactly what I need on the strength, nutrition and the boxing side of things. He has the connections to get me the best sparring and that really improves me as a fighter.”
Groves also feels that the influence of Haye has given his career an extra dimension; the Commonwealth kingpin is adamant that Haye will go onto dominate the heavyweight division, a journey that will be shared by George.
“David has got it all to do, it is not easy or black and white but he has the potential and he is our best hope since Lennox. If he performs well, and with the speed and power he’s got, then he can take it to anyone in the world, be it either Klitschko or what he did to Ruiz in his last fight. The sparring and preparation wasn’t perfect but he put Ruiz on his arse within two-minutes and no one but Tua had done that to him before. If everything goes to plan he’ll be the biggest thing in boxing, if he’s not already,” stated Groves.
“I’m enjoying sharing his journey and am trying to pick up experience and know how myself along that journey. I like to think I’ll clean up domestically in the next couple of years, get the British and European before moving onto the world stage. I’d like to prove myself by winning the British outright first before moving onto bigger and better things, I want to be a world champion, just like my boss David Haye, and have those huge fights.”
With the British 168lb traditionally a strong division, and with Froch, Smith, Magee, DeGale and Tony Jeffries all jostling for position, the road ahead could be treacherous for Groves. It is one thing, though, to have a packed division and another thing entirely to put on the fights that will give the division cohesion. Groves is ready and waiting to take on all-comers but is aware that the domestic showdowns the fans crave do not always come to fruition.
“I know the journey I want to go on, I can’t speak for anyone else, there are a lot of good fighters coming through, some will reach their potential, some won’t, we can’t all reach our potential and go through to the top, it doesn’t work like that – some might go through easier routes or around the houses but I know what I want to do and what I can do and I’m sure I will be the one to reach the top,” pledged Groves when asked if the big fights can be made.
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