THIS week George Groves, the WBA super-middleweight champion, returns to the Manchester Arena, for the first time since his thrilling 2013 clash with Carl Froch. That was the first occasion Groves challenged Froch. Then he was a hefty underdog but Groves shot out of the traps in the opening round and in a stunning moment dropped iron-chinned Froch. Famously Froch recovered and came on strong in the later rounds only to see the referee pull out Groves and fuel a controversy that ultimately led to their monumental rematch at Wembley stadium.
โReally [trainer Paddy] Fitzpatrick and me got the tactics wrong. I had him up against the ropes in the first fight, I should have jumped straight on him and gone straight from there. I got it wrong. It happens, whatever. Iโm in a good place now. It doesnโt keep me up at night. Iโve achieved my dream and now Iโm just trying to capitalise on that,โ Groves noted.
In fact, yet again, he has another super-fight on his hands. On Saturday (February 17) Groves fights Chris Eubank Junior at the Manchester Arena, defending his world title and fighting for a place in the final of the World Boxing Super Series.
Groves is adamant that his experiences with Froch have prepared him in ways that Eubank is yet to learn. โFor the second Froch fight my mindset was: ‘Iโm going to make this so big that once I win I donโt need anyone’. I donโt need to be invited to the Matchroom pool party, Iโm going to be so big that Iโm going to be able to have that element of control. Iโm going to try to promote it as best I possibly could. It was a tightrope because the more promotion you do, the more risk you have alienating the fans. But win emphatically and people quickly forget. But get knocked out, you have a massive fall from grace and there is a massive task at hand to rebuild. I got knocked out. So Iโm not necessarily the most PC guy and Iโm not cheesy, I could never sustain being fake. I had to not just take it on the chin on the night, I had to take it on the chin after and rebuild properly with fights. Iโd say I still think I can beat Carl Froch. I knew that would be the worst thing to say commercially. But I couldnโt eat that humble pie and be cheesy,โ Groves said.
โIโm glad I learned my lessons.โ
The Londoner believes Eubank is making the kind of errors he once committed. โI definitely looked beyond the Froch rematch. Not because I thought it was a foregone conclusion of winning but I was supremely confident I was going to do the job. Iโd done too much PR in the process, which was very taxing, then come fight night, Iโd obviously got it wrong. I should have made some more changes. There were rushed changes before the first because I needed a trainer. For the second fight, I probably should have brought in someone else as well. But it was a whirlwind thing. Which way do I get my rematch? We went through the IBF, got that and then because of that I was too busy trying to negotiate my purse, then promote it. It was really exciting, because I felt like it was all clicking for me. But at the same time, it was draining, it was taxing. Different obviously for Eubank this time round [but] I feel he wants to do that,โ Groves said. โI think Junior might be looking beyond this fight. Like I did.โ
โIt’s a tough test. I believe Iโm the best super-middleweight in the world right now. Certainly one of them. A legitimate world champion. He hasnโt boxed anyone as big, as fast, as good as me before. Probably the best opposition heโs been in against is [Billy Joe] Saunders, which was a good few years ago now, at domestic level. And Saunders has now really improved, obviously in the last fight. So fortunately for Eubank, his stockโs risen because Saunders has risen. (And itโs middleweight),โ George continued.
He adds, โHe hasnโt filled out into the super-middleweight division yet. He might do one day. But he certainly has it done it yet, thatโs going to be a big, big factor.โ
But Groves believes Eubank hadnโt even learned the right lessons from his loss to Saunders. โI thought Billy Joe would beat him more convincingly than he did. He obviously finished the fight stronger and it was a close decision,โ Groves explained. โHe [Eubank] decided to fully focus on fitness and being able to fight every second of every round. His dad probably critiqued him pretty hard after that. After you lose you think I need to listen to people because Iโve got it wrong. But since then heโs been exceptionally well matched. His little path, is it right? Is it wrong? Itโs hard to tell. Youโll never know.ย Would he be commercially bigger if heโd signed in with a big promoter and let them do the job? Or would he not? If this tournament wasnโt here now where would he be? Heโd be defending an IBO on ITV against unknown for no money. Donโt listen to the dad when the dad says heโs earned millions. Of course he hasnโt. You only need to count the pay-per-view numbers, count the ticket sales, how many were given away and how much it costs etc. etc. I just think that yeah theyโve done very well, whether they intended to or not in terms of commercially building his brand but they havenโt had the tests in terms of the fights to back up where he is commercially. Now heโs having to make that giant bridging step and itโs a step too far.”
“But youโve got to win some fights first, do you know what I mean?” Groves cautioned. “Attach yourself to big names and not have a real fight [until now]. Obviously the big difference here, heโs in a fight.”
Groves thinks the footage they’ve released publicly speaks volumes, to the Eubank team’s detriment. “The dad jumps in. Itโs the blind leading the blind. But I suppose there are people out there that think, thatโs just brilliant. Thatโs how youโve got to do it. They must know what theyโre doing. In reality I donโt think they do,” Groves declared.
โAs the fightโs getting a bit closer, many more people are seeing through it.โ
No doubt has emerged yet from the Eubank camp though. The final say will take place on Saturday night.
The Groves vs. Eubank Jr Ali Trophy semi-final on 17th February is LIVE on ITV Box Office. It is available to buy NOW for ยฃ16.95.ย
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