Groves vs. Contreras on Marquez-Diaz undercard on 7/31 – Haye to work Groves’ corner

By Boxing News - 07/06/2010 - Comments

By Sean McDaniel: In his American debut, the talented unbeaten Commonwealth super middleweight champion George Groves (9-0, 7 KO’s) will be facing Mexican Alfredo Contreras (11-7-1, 5 KO’s) on the undercard of the Juan Manuel Marquez vs. Juan Diaz fight on July 31st at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, in Las Vegas, Nevada. Oddly enough, WBA heavyweight champion David Haye will be reportedly working Groves’ corner, along with his trainer Adam Booth.

Contreras, 25, has lost three out of his last four bouts and no doubt has been selected in an effort allow Groves to look good. However, Groves looks good anyway and it’s disappointing that they couldn’t have found a better opponent than this for Groves’ first fight in the United States. There’s no question Groves will look good, but it probably won’t be a compelling fight due to the one-sided nature of it. This fight will have some benefit to it, though, as Groves will be facing his first Mexican opponent of his two year pro career.

In an article at Sportinglife.co.uk, Groves said “I want to put on a show, be my very best and win over fans stateside. The US have some very promising super-middleweights starting to break through, it’s my job to show they won’t be having it all their own way in years to come on the biggest stage.” If Groves can keep winning and looking good, he can soon find himself fighting top super middleweights like Mikkel Kessler, Andre Ward, Andre Dirrell, Lucian Bute, Carl Froch, and Arthur Abraham. Those are the top super middleweights in the division right now, and it would be a huge plus if Groves can find himself lumped with them some day in the near future.

Groves, 22, captured the Commonwealth super middleweight title in April with a 6th round stoppage win over then champion Charles Adamu.

In terms of style, Groves punches equally well to the head and body, and has knockout power when landing anywhere. His defense is superb and he moves well around the ring. For a 22-year-old, Groves is very advanced and fights like someone much older than that. Right now, Groves is perhaps the best super middleweight in the UK, if you take Froch out of the equation.