Right I just finished watching DeGale and Groves again,for the first time since May2011,and I have to say Groves hasn't a chance against Froch.
I watched and looked closely,scoring that fight to DeGale,by a two round swing.having watched the entire fight,I don't see anything in Groves armory that can trouble Froch one bit,I don't believe Groves hurt DeGale at any point in that fight and the only way I believe Groves can stop an early to mid round onslaught from Froch is to make him respect his power,something Groves lacks,its all good and well stopping the likes of Paul Smith and Noe Gonzales,but stepping up against European level DeGale and world class Froch,the power hasn't carried through to those next levels.
Groves was stunned hard by DeGale and in truth I really don't believe DeGale has the fight ending power,the higher echelons of the division harness.Groves is going to be in a world of hurt the moment Froch catches up with him,there is no way he slip,duck,dive and feint his way through 12 rounds of world level action,it simply isn't in him to go the distance.
Fighters with world class pedigree stand out head and shoulders above the others before making that step up to world level,I do not recognize those attributes within Groves,I know some will disagree,I know some will try and sell this fight as a great match up,Froch is made of stern stuff,his durability isn't in question,what stands out though is Groves won't test that durability one bit.
Against DeGale,he was pushed hard in those latter rounds,had DeGale have put it on him earlier no way would Groves havve seen the final bell,Froch will take the fight to him from the very beginning.
i seriously doubt groves can even outbox froch. froch's jab is thudding and always finds a home.
Reach and size advantage are not in Groves favor at all to try and at least justify the raiding attacks may actually work !
I re-watched this funnily enough. Whilst I wanted Groves to win as Degale was so cocky Groves didn't really look that good.
Degale is a totally different style but I too was left thinking, he simply doesn't have the arsenal to beat Froch there.
I think the Cobra takes him within 7 rounds, only because Groves has underestimated the power of Froch, he isn't a KO artist but he can definitely put the ginger kid to sleep. I believe when Froch connects properly Groves will be on survival mode just avoiding being knocked out.
The ginger kid haha,I don't really hold any untoward bias for or against DeGale or Groves,and I really didn't like how DeGale conducted himself before that fight,but that doesn't mean Groves is a saint in my view.I really aren't here or there on either DeGale or Groves,I just feel DeGale was robbed and Froch shouldn't be having to make defences against a guy of the calibre of Groves.
Froch looks to make the biggest and best fights out there with the exception of the odd few,Mack and Johnson spring to mind,but Johnson was forced on him by the Super 6 and Mack helped propel him back into pay per view and I fully appreciate and respect from a business point of view what a demolition of Mack could do to help sell a HUGE ppv event with Kessler again down the line,it had the British fight fans buying into the prestige and glamour of Froch again,especially after the manner of the victory over Bute previously.
Oh yeah cos Groves hasn't improved at all since the Degale fight...
Name one opponent on his resume,that you would consider better than DeGale,you don't progress beating a 50 year old Johnson and defeating the likes of Noe Gonzales.
DeGale has progressed in terms of level of opposition since he lost an extremely disputable decision against the Saint,I fail to recognize one opponent who could genuinely take Groves career forward,after DeGale.
I'm by no means a DeGale fan or trying to promote him here,merely point out how physically unprepared Groves is for a test against the divisions no.2 and a p4p top 10 fighter.
I knew this post wouldn't please everyone,and I have really gone out of my way to explain myself,I really don't see how you can justify Groves has progressed since his contested win over DeGale.
I think the Cobra takes him within 7 rounds, only because Groves has underestimated the power of Froch, he isn't a KO artist but he can definitely put the ginger kid to sleep. I believe when Froch connects properly Groves will be on survival mode just avoiding being knocked out.
i agree groves has only one chance and thats his movement but he has to engage with carl which will get him caught eventually...
when you look at carl his poor technical ability makes him look like he can be outboxed fairly easily. but his reach, chin, power, workrate and will to win make him world class. i dont think george can handle the pressure this is gunna be a yusif mack repeat.
I think the only chance Groves has is to make Carl respect his power,I genuinely don't believe has the power to make Carl respect hi.this for me is going to be a whitewash.
I'm not a gambling man,and given generous odds I could be tempted to bet points on Groves but trying to justify Groves can take this on points,I can't see anything to justify that with ! It should make for an exciting fight,kinda like the Cleverly v Kovalev fight,Cleverly knowing full well he can't stand and trade with Krusher was unwittingly his downfall,he tried to take the fight back to Krusher to make him respect his own power,but the Russian refused to acknowledge the threat coming back and took full advantage of the openings,I'm expecting a repeat of the same,then the excuses after 'I knew I should have boxed him,instead of traded'. If Groves believes he can outbox Carl when he struggled badly against a pedestrian DeGale,the kid is in for a rude awakening,he has nothing on his side,false belief won't help him,shorter reach won't aid raiding attacks.
I'm sorry but this fight will not be competitive,you can't jump from fighting the likes of Gonzales and not looking all that impressive to fighting a man like Froch.handling Glencoffe Johnson doesn't justify a title shot,look what happened to Bute after his thorough shut out against Johnson.
Groves preparation for this fight has all been wrong,Adam Booth in his corner or not,he can not and could not have possibly won this fight,especially at this stage of his career,if ever in his career !
Thought DeGale won the fight when I was there. Thought he won it also when I watched the repeat on TV.
Had it close though by a single point.
And like DeGale said on ringside, he did not cut the ring off well enough against Groves and did not throw enough punches. Froch will not make the same mistakes.
Dude you've nailed it.the first 7-8 rounds were drab,but after that James eally took control,had he have started like he fought in the last third of the fight he would have stopped him.I don't want to confuse the debate here by folk thinking I am a DeGale,its not that I like or dislike either of them,I simply just don't rate either of them all that highly.but certainly,when DeGale let his hands go and had that tenacity about him he really shone,and stood out in those latter rounds.Froch will bring it from the start and when he smells blood,unlike DeGale,he will end it.I'm not looking too much into the Bute fight,simply Froch as a fighter on a whole.he knows when to step it up and how to take it to an opponent,its not a case of waiting until the 8-9th,its constant pressure throughout the fight.
i agree groves has only one chance and thats his movement but he has to engage with carl which will get him caught eventually...
when you look at carl his poor technical ability makes him look like he can be outboxed fairly easily. but his reach, chin, power, workrate and will to win make him world class. i dont think george can handle the pressure this is gunna be a yusif mack repeat.
Thought DeGale won the fight when I was there. Thought he won it also when I watched the repeat on TV.
Had it close though by a single point.
And like DeGale said on ringside, he did not cut the ring off well enough against Groves and did not throw enough punches. Froch will not make the same mistakes.