Groves: I’m not unpatriotic; Kessler is half English, Froch is Polish

By Boxing News - 05/21/2013 - Comments

groves4534By Scott Gilfoid: George Groves (18-0, 14 KO’s) has taken a lot of heat about him choosing to spar with WBA super middleweight champion Mikkel Kessler to help him get ready for his fight against IBF super middleweight champion Carl Froch this Saturday night at the O2 Arena in London, UK.

A lot of fans saw Groves’ move in doing this as unpatriotic move because Froch is from Britain like Groves, whereas Kessler is from Denmark.

Groves made an attempt to shut down the criticism on his social media site today, saying “For everyone who is saying I am unpatriotic for sparring with Mikkel Kessler, remember…Mikkel is half English and Carl Froch is Polish.”

So there it is. Groves now has explained why he chose to spar Kessler instead of Froch, who fights in the same stable as him with Matchroom Sport.

Personally, I think Groves could have used a better excuse for the sparring with Kessler by saying he’s the much, much more talented fighter with better speed, power and a much better boxing brain. Groves should have said that he wanted to spar with someone that could actually help his career by teaching him how to fight so that he can improve. I mean, if Groves had sparred with Froch it would have been just a bunch of slugging and that wouldn’t have gotten him much because anyone can slug.

Heck, Groves could pull someone out of a pub and drag him into the gym if he wanted someone to teach him how to slug. But to learn how to box at a high level, Groves needed someone like Kessler, Andre Ward, and the Dirrell brothers.

I think Groves did good by choosing to spar with Kessler. He should continue to do so if the Dane ever lets him again.

We’ll see on Saturday night whether Groves’ sparring with Kessler will help the Dane/Brit beat Froch or not. I really don’t think it was necessary for Kessler to spar with Groves in order to beat Froch. He’s already got more than enough talent to beat the likes of Froch.



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