By Edward Chaykovsky
Super middleweight contender George Groves feels he has WBA/IBF champion Carl Froch right where he wants him. Last November, Groves came close to taking Froch out but fell apart in the late rounds. He had Froch down in the first and continued to land big punches, grabbing a lead on all three scorecards leading into the ninth. It was in that round where Groves was hurt, with referee Howard Foster jumping in a little too soon to wave things off.
Because of the early stoppage, a rematch is now scheduled on May 31 at Wembley Staidum in London.
“It’s clear he doesn’t have a taste for me,” says Groves to The Standard. “I’m no different towards anyone in any fight. He’s just the same to me but it’s clear he has his own mental demons. He’s seeing a sports psychologist and I can tell that he’s worried. He won’t make eye contact but I know he’s thinking about me and, if he’s thinking about me, that’s fine.”
“He’s brave in that he takes a lot of shots but he’s not a warrior. He’s like a cat that waits to lash out and an aging cat at that. He’s never had much of a technique to fall back on and he’s slowed. He can take a shot but not repeatedly from me. I wish him luck but he’s not showing me anything. I’m a faster fighter, I have faster hands and a better defence. It’s only going to end one way.”
