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TD – How do you feel about the way the fight ended?
CF – I’m frustrated.
TD – Frustration’s the key word. I thought the tables had turned in round nine with the right hand left hook but we’ll never know for sure.
CF – The right hand got him going bad that did. You know, if the ref was to my right instead of to my left, the ref wouldn’t have been able to get to him, the ref would have had to stop me from hitting him and then because of the way he slumped forward; his arms dropped, his head sagged and he was leaning over, he’d have fell over, then the ref grabs me and he falls over, and what a difference that would have made but in reality, and looking at it for what it is, that’s the start of the [final] third of the fight and the [final] third of the fight, the last four rounds – they’re the championship rounds, you know. You’ve got the first four rounds then you’ve got the middle four rounds and you’ve got the last four rounds. The last four rounds are [the championship] rounds it’s as simple as that and I was taking over at the start of the championship rounds, he was in bad trouble and he got stopped.
TD – Do you think he punched himself out of in the sixth round?
CF – I think that’s a good call actually, because at the end of round six he walked back to his corner, he was blowing very heavy, he looked very tired and, I think he was physically in bad shape, yeah. I don’t think George Groves is a 12-round fighter, I’m not sure he ever will be unless he develops some sort of stamina. Like he said on Behind the Ropes he takes weight off – he said he takes between eight and 10 pounds off, he dries out, that’s not very good. Did you see that on Behind the Ropes? I do the weight, its quite hard, I struggle a bit, but the night before I take off 8-10 pounds by drying out.
TD – What’s the feedback you’ve had from everyone. Do you feel that people are unsatisfied with the way it ended?
CF – Initially. The initial feedback was it [was stopped] early off most people, but not everyone. What people have done is go and watch it back on the television, and now most people are saying – fair stoppage, it was right. Groves had no response, he turned his back, he was slumped, he looked gone [and] it would have been dangerous for the fight to carry on. That’s the feedback I’m getting off people.
TD – What do you say to people who say you were in worse straits in the first round than he was in the ninth?
CF – Well I got up and looked at the referee and told him, “I’m okay ref, I’m good to continue”. I looked him in the eye, I put my guard up and I walked towards him. Now, the difference between that and slumping over, turning your back, looking at the floor and looking like a finished man looking for retribution, looking for salvation is like chalk and cheese. You know, it’s not even comparable. The state I was in in round one, fit and healthy, on my feet, clear-eyed, talking to the referee, compare to him slumped over, saggy arms, head flopping around, turning away from me. You can’t compare the two, can you? I took my eight-count I went down, I got up and I was back on my feet – you can’t stop the fight there.
TD – What happened with the knockdown? People say you’re a slow starter, which isn’t always the case. Did you take Groves for granted or did it legitimately surprise you how hard he could crack?
CF – I know George Groves can hit quite hard. He’s not the biggest puncher I’ve ever been in with but he can obviously whack a bit, his record suggests the same. I came out cold, I wasn’t warmed up. Whatever, there’s no excuses, George Groves caught me with a good shot, I left my feet behind. Just before that I caught him with an uppercut, I did that going to the ropes, and because I caught him with that shot, I then got excited and reached and left my feet behind and came square on. As I came square on, he threw a very good right hand counter on his backfoot, he sort of backed up, got some room and hit me with a really good right hand, and he hit me square on the jaw, my feet were sort of [squared up]. There was nowhere else to go but down on the floor, there was nowhere I could have gone. I couldn’t ride the shot, I couldn’t move out the way so I got put on the seat of my pants. You know, it happens.
TD – How hard was it in there? How gruelling was it physically, because people are calling it one of the best British fights of all time?
CF – Well I’m used to it, I thought it was alright, I was quite comfortable to be honest. I didn’t think it was a hard pace. After two or three rounds he stopped punching hard. He hit me with some really heavy looking shots in round six, he bounced a left hook and a right hand and a right hook and we were stood in front of each other in that round. He probably got the better of the exchange but to be honest, there was nothing on his punches by that stage and I thought, ‘You know what? He’s fading here, he’s not punching as hard’. I backed him up and put shots together and I could feel the life draining out of him. He’s not a 12-round fighter, George Groves, he’s not at that level yet. To become a world champion, to mix with the best in the world, you’ve got to be a 12-round fighter and you’ve got to be able to finish the 12 rounds like I [do], which is like a steam train. Round nine, 10, 11 and 12 in most of my fights I come on strong, and that’s why I’m the fighter I am, that’s why I’m the champion I am, because [football] is a game of two halves, boxing is a game of three thirds – the first third, then the middle third where you can pretty much decide who’s going to win and then there’s a final stretch, the last four rounds. There’s a reason there’s 12 rounds in boxing, there’s a reason there’s only eight rounds in a non-title fight and 12 rounds in a title fight. I wish it was back to 15 rounds, because that would suit me even better, but you can’t be fading, and looking for salvation in round nine, taking stick that he was taking and expect to go 12 rounds. Whichever way you look at it, the stoppage was justified. Howard Foster did a great job. Yes it could have gone on a bit longer, but to no avail. What would have happened? George Groves was getting knocked out. I bust him up in round eight, in round nine the [finish] was there and had the referee not jumped in all he would have done is delayed the inevitable, it’s as simple as that.
CF – I’m frustrated.
TD – Frustration’s the key word. I thought the tables had turned in round nine with the right hand left hook but we’ll never know for sure.
CF – The right hand got him going bad that did. You know, if the ref was to my right instead of to my left, the ref wouldn’t have been able to get to him, the ref would have had to stop me from hitting him and then because of the way he slumped forward; his arms dropped, his head sagged and he was leaning over, he’d have fell over, then the ref grabs me and he falls over, and what a difference that would have made but in reality, and looking at it for what it is, that’s the start of the [final] third of the fight and the [final] third of the fight, the last four rounds – they’re the championship rounds, you know. You’ve got the first four rounds then you’ve got the middle four rounds and you’ve got the last four rounds. The last four rounds are [the championship] rounds it’s as simple as that and I was taking over at the start of the championship rounds, he was in bad trouble and he got stopped.
TD – Do you think he punched himself out of in the sixth round?
CF – I think that’s a good call actually, because at the end of round six he walked back to his corner, he was blowing very heavy, he looked very tired and, I think he was physically in bad shape, yeah. I don’t think George Groves is a 12-round fighter, I’m not sure he ever will be unless he develops some sort of stamina. Like he said on Behind the Ropes he takes weight off – he said he takes between eight and 10 pounds off, he dries out, that’s not very good. Did you see that on Behind the Ropes? I do the weight, its quite hard, I struggle a bit, but the night before I take off 8-10 pounds by drying out.
TD – What’s the feedback you’ve had from everyone. Do you feel that people are unsatisfied with the way it ended?
CF – Initially. The initial feedback was it [was stopped] early off most people, but not everyone. What people have done is go and watch it back on the television, and now most people are saying – fair stoppage, it was right. Groves had no response, he turned his back, he was slumped, he looked gone [and] it would have been dangerous for the fight to carry on. That’s the feedback I’m getting off people.
TD – What do you say to people who say you were in worse straits in the first round than he was in the ninth?
CF – Well I got up and looked at the referee and told him, “I’m okay ref, I’m good to continue”. I looked him in the eye, I put my guard up and I walked towards him. Now, the difference between that and slumping over, turning your back, looking at the floor and looking like a finished man looking for retribution, looking for salvation is like chalk and cheese. You know, it’s not even comparable. The state I was in in round one, fit and healthy, on my feet, clear-eyed, talking to the referee, compare to him slumped over, saggy arms, head flopping around, turning away from me. You can’t compare the two, can you? I took my eight-count I went down, I got up and I was back on my feet – you can’t stop the fight there.
TD – What happened with the knockdown? People say you’re a slow starter, which isn’t always the case. Did you take Groves for granted or did it legitimately surprise you how hard he could crack?
CF – I know George Groves can hit quite hard. He’s not the biggest puncher I’ve ever been in with but he can obviously whack a bit, his record suggests the same. I came out cold, I wasn’t warmed up. Whatever, there’s no excuses, George Groves caught me with a good shot, I left my feet behind. Just before that I caught him with an uppercut, I did that going to the ropes, and because I caught him with that shot, I then got excited and reached and left my feet behind and came square on. As I came square on, he threw a very good right hand counter on his backfoot, he sort of backed up, got some room and hit me with a really good right hand, and he hit me square on the jaw, my feet were sort of [squared up]. There was nowhere else to go but down on the floor, there was nowhere I could have gone. I couldn’t ride the shot, I couldn’t move out the way so I got put on the seat of my pants. You know, it happens.
TD – How hard was it in there? How gruelling was it physically, because people are calling it one of the best British fights of all time?
CF – Well I’m used to it, I thought it was alright, I was quite comfortable to be honest. I didn’t think it was a hard pace. After two or three rounds he stopped punching hard. He hit me with some really heavy looking shots in round six, he bounced a left hook and a right hand and a right hook and we were stood in front of each other in that round. He probably got the better of the exchange but to be honest, there was nothing on his punches by that stage and I thought, ‘You know what? He’s fading here, he’s not punching as hard’. I backed him up and put shots together and I could feel the life draining out of him. He’s not a 12-round fighter, George Groves, he’s not at that level yet. To become a world champion, to mix with the best in the world, you’ve got to be a 12-round fighter and you’ve got to be able to finish the 12 rounds like I [do], which is like a steam train. Round nine, 10, 11 and 12 in most of my fights I come on strong, and that’s why I’m the fighter I am, that’s why I’m the champion I am, because [football] is a game of two halves, boxing is a game of three thirds – the first third, then the middle third where you can pretty much decide who’s going to win and then there’s a final stretch, the last four rounds. There’s a reason there’s 12 rounds in boxing, there’s a reason there’s only eight rounds in a non-title fight and 12 rounds in a title fight. I wish it was back to 15 rounds, because that would suit me even better, but you can’t be fading, and looking for salvation in round nine, taking stick that he was taking and expect to go 12 rounds. Whichever way you look at it, the stoppage was justified. Howard Foster did a great job. Yes it could have gone on a bit longer, but to no avail. What would have happened? George Groves was getting knocked out. I bust him up in round eight, in round nine the [finish] was there and had the referee not jumped in all he would have done is delayed the inevitable, it’s as simple as that.
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