Anderson can end the Groves hype train on March 16th

By Boxing News - 02/15/2012 - Comments

Image: Anderson can end the Groves hype train on March 16thBy Scott Gilfoid: Kenny Anderson (15-1, 11 KO’s) has the power and the skills to rip the the British title away from super middleweight champion George Groves (14-0, 11 KO’s) next month on March 16th at the Wembley Arena, Wembley, London, UK.

Groves for some reason wanted this fight after going tooth and nail to beat Anderson the last time they fought in 2010, but he wants it again. This time though Anderson is going to make the needed improvements in his game to not only beat Groves, but to beat him in style.

Anderson, 29, has had the luxury of watching how effective James DeGale was in taking the fight to Groves at a double time. Unfortunately, it took an actual chase by DeGale for him to catch up to the constantly running Groves in order to batter him with shots in the last eight rounds of their fight. Groves won it, but he really didn’t.

That was DeGale’s baby and he deserved it all the way. But the outcome really if no importance here, because the real gem that came from that fight was that DeGale unburied the blueprint in how to beat Groves, and Anderson is ready to scoop that blueprint up, study it with a magnifying glass and use it to stop Groves when they meet next month. I mean, there’s really no trick to beating Groves, #3 WBO, #10 IBF, #10 WBA, #11 WBC. He doesn’t like to get hit and shies away from it like a person trying to avoid a hot flame.

What Anderson needs and has to do is go after Groves at a double time. He cant plod after him or shuffle after him because Groves runs too fast and Anderson doesn’t have quick feet like Andre Dirrell. So, Anderson will have jog after Groves the same way that Antonio Margarito went after Miguel Cotto in their first fight, and how Lamont Peterson went after Amir Khan. You have to job after runners, and then fire off huge shots when you catch them.

Anderson has to do this the entire fight to corner Groves and force him to fight. You can’t let him shift from side to side and use his feints all night long because he’ll pick you apart with his hit and run style.

The talented Americans like Andre Ward and the Dirrell brothers have always known how to beat a guy like Groves, but I guess for the UK fighters there’s more of a learning curve involved. But that’s how Anderson needs to do it. He’s got to chase Groves and get him running until he runs out of real estate, and then Anderson can blast him out.



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