By Marcus Richardson: Chris Eubank Jr. (26-1, 20 KOs) has seen enough of George Groves’ fights recently to conclude that he’s not the same fighter he once was since he was stopped in consecutive fights by former super middleweight champion Carl Froch in 2013 and 2014.
Eubank Jr. believes that Groves (27-3, 20 KOs) is the same fighter physically, but not mentally. His 2 losses to Froch changed him mentally, according to Eubank Jr. Eubank Jr. also thinks Groves is showing his mental vulnerabilities by beating so reliant on his trainer Shawn McGuigan during his fights.
McGuigan gives Groves a lot of instructions between rounds, and Eubank Jr. sees that as weakness on Groves’ part.
Eubank Jr. and Groves will be fighting on February 17 in the semifinals of the World Boxing Super Series at the Manchester Arena in Manchester, England. The fight is technically a unification fight, but Groves is the one with the major world title with his WBA 168 lb. belt. Eubank Jr. will have his IBO super middleweight title on the line.
“I think physically he’s the same guy, not mentally,” said Eubank Jr. to skysports.com. ”That [Froch defeat] took something out of him. Groves, his chin is susceptible to punishment, and punishment is exactly what he is going to receive on February 17.”
Groves has done pretty well since his 2 losses to Froch. The only defeat Groves suffered since then was a narrow 12 round split decision loss to Badou Jack 2 years ago on September 12, 2015. We’ve since found out that Jack is a very good fighter, who held titles at 168 and 175. There’s no shame in Groves losing a close decision to Jack.
Groves has won all 6 of his fights since the loss to Jack. Groves looks to be the same fighter that fought Froch in their first fight. Groves is little wiser now, and he’s now more of a body puncher than he was back then. Perhaps if Groves had targeted Froch’s body rather than his cast iron chin, he might have had a better chance of knocking him out. It definitely would have made their 2 fights different had Groves aimed his punches at Froch’s midsection instead of his head.
Groves might be better than he was when he fought Froch. He’s certainly more careful, and less prone to making the same mistakes that he made in those two fights. You won’t see Groves punch himself out like he did in the first Froch fight. Further, Groves doesn’t back up to the ropes nearly as much now compared to when he fought Froch.
“. I know his mind set is vulnerable and I’ll exploit those vulnerabilities in the fight,” said Eubank Jr.
If Groves is as fragile mentally as Eubank Jr. says, it’s likely that he’ll fall apart when the two of them get inside the ring on February 17th. Eubank Jr. is intent on taking the fight to the 29-year-old Groves in the same way Froch did in their 2 fights.