Weights: Froch 167.5, Groves 166.25

By Boxing News - 05/30/2014 - Comments

groves674By Scott Gilfoid: IBF/WBA super middleweight champion Carl Froch expects to be able to beat George Groves no matter which tactic he tries on Saturday night in their rematch. Froch weighed in at 167.5 lbs. at today’s weigh-in. Groves weighed a little less at 166.25 lbs. The fact that Groves came in a little less is a good sign because it suggests that he worked out hard with his conditioning coach to fix his stamina problem that he had from his last fight against Froch.

I don’t usually put a big emphasis on what fighters weigh. The main thing to look for is whether someone is drained or not and looking skeletal at the weigh-in. If you see a fighter looking like that then it’s a good sign they’re not going to be at 100%. Even if they still win, they’re still not at 100% due to the stress that they put on their body. The weight isn’t going to be a factor in Saturday’s rematch. It’s going to come down to whether Groves can out-box Froch, and if he’s got the conditioning to fight for 12 rounds without fading like he did the last time they fought.

If there’s going to be an early knockout on Saturday night then you’ve have to give it to Groves. He’s faster, stronger, and he moves better than Froch. Groves will plenty of opportunities to land his right hands and left hooks clean to the head of Froch due to his dreadful defensive skills. Froch fights with his hands down by his sides, and this’ll make it easy for Groves to land his best shots. I hope for Froch’s sake that his punch resistance hasn’t diminished from the last time he fought Groves, because if it has, he’s going to be taking a nap early in the fight.

“I think he’s going to move and box and run,” Froch said to Skysports.com. “I can’t see George Groves going the distance with me. Not purely because of his lack of fitness and the question marks about whether he’s tough enough, although he proved he wasn’t fit or tough enough in his last fight.”



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