Groves Admits Being Spoiled By 80K Wembley Headliner
Sep 9, 2015 • 9:05 AM ET
George Groves says he holds no fear going into his WBC super middleweight title bout with Badou Jack and insists that beating a Floyd Mayweather fighter in Las Vegas will make victory all the sweeter.
The 27-year-old is looking to become a world champion on the Mayweather v Andre Berto undercard on September 12 at the MGM Grand and has labelled his next opponent as "just another fighter".
Groves (21-2-KO16) has been training for two months in Big Bear in California ahead of the bout and said he is looking forward to returning to fight in Vegas after his time there as a young amateur. He is determined to spoil the party for Jack (19-1-1 KO12), who is part of the Mayweather stable.
"Boxing in Vegas is always exciting," Groves said. "I boxed out there as an amateur and a professional - always successfully. Plus this time obviously [there is] a substantial belt on the line. So I'm extremely excited. When you're a kid you dream about boxing and headlining.
"One of those feats is to fight for a world title in Vegas. Now I have a chance to fulfil that. Boxing in Mayweather's hometown isn't a problem, it makes sense. Just another fighter.
However, as excited as Groves is to be back in Vegas fighting a Mayweather opponent on the pound-for-pound king's last scheduled bout, he insisted it could not compare to his Wembley showdown with Carl Froch.
Groves lost back-to-back bouts with the now-retired Froch, including an 80,000 sell-out fight in London, and insisted that his upcoming contest could not compare.
"Magnitude, no, of course not," Groves said. "No disrespect to Floyd. No disrespect to Mayweather Promotions. Even Floyd would say that it's not his biggest fight.
"So, Badou's a big fight. It's a fight for me, fighting for the world title, whether undercard or not, in Las Vegas is what people all around the world dream of.
"It's exciting for me. I've been spoiled. I've experienced a lot. I've been able to take part in a lot of boxing. We hope many more from the future. But, yes. From now on in I'm just going to play this one down. This is just a fight."
