George Groves on how the lessons of his Carl Froch super-fights will ensure he defeats Chris Eubank Jr

George Groves

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.

โ€œReally [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. Iโ€™m in a good place now. It doesnโ€™t keep me up at night. Iโ€™ve achieved my dream and now Iโ€™m 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. โ€œFor the second Froch fight my mindset was: ‘Iโ€™m going to make this so big that once I win I donโ€™t need anyone’. I donโ€™t need to be invited to the Matchroom pool party, Iโ€™m going to be so big that Iโ€™m going to be able to have that element of control. Iโ€™m 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 Iโ€™m not necessarily the most PC guy and Iโ€™m 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. Iโ€™d say I still think I can beat Carl Froch. I knew that would be the worst thing to say commercially. But I couldnโ€™t eat that humble pie and be cheesy,โ€ Groves said.

โ€œIโ€™m glad I learned my lessons.โ€

The Londoner believes Eubank is making the kind of errors he once committed. โ€œI 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. Iโ€™d done too much PR in the process, which was very taxing, then come fight night, Iโ€™d 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. โ€œI think Junior might be looking beyond this fight. Like I did.โ€

โ€œIt’s a tough test. I believe Iโ€™m the best super-middleweight in the world right now. Certainly one of them. A legitimate world champion. He hasnโ€™t boxed anyone as big, as fast, as good as me before. Probably the best opposition heโ€™s 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 stockโ€™s risen because Saunders has risen. (And itโ€™s middleweight),โ€ George continued.

He adds, โ€œHe hasnโ€™t filled out into the super-middleweight division yet. He might do one day. But he certainly has it done it yet, thatโ€™s going to be a big, big factor.โ€

But Groves believes Eubank hadnโ€™t even learned the right lessons from his loss to Saunders. โ€œI 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. โ€œHe [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 Iโ€™ve got it wrong. But since then heโ€™s been exceptionally well matched. His little path, is it right? Is it wrong? Itโ€™s hard to tell. Youโ€™ll never know.ย  Would he be commercially bigger if heโ€™d signed in with a big promoter and let them do the job? Or would he not? If this tournament wasnโ€™t here now where would he be? Heโ€™d be defending an IBO on ITV against unknown for no money. Donโ€™t listen to the dad when the dad says heโ€™s earned millions. Of course he hasnโ€™t. 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 theyโ€™ve done very well, whether they intended to or not in terms of commercially building his brand but they havenโ€™t had the tests in terms of the fights to back up where he is commercially. Now heโ€™s having to make that giant bridging step and itโ€™s a step too far.”

“But youโ€™ve 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, heโ€™s in a fight.”

Groves thinks the footage they’ve released publicly speaks volumes, to the Eubank team’s detriment. “The dad jumps in. Itโ€™s the blind leading the blind. But I suppose there are people out there that think, thatโ€™s just brilliant. Thatโ€™s how youโ€™ve got to do it. They must know what theyโ€™re doing. In reality I donโ€™t think they do,” Groves declared.

โ€œAs the fightโ€™s 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 

Visit itvboxoffice.com to purchase & for more information.

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