By Gav Duthie: After George Groves 8th round knockout defeat on Saturday night to Carl Froch it’s fair to say that sibling promotional team Kalle and Nisse Sauerland have a difficult task ahead in plotting his world title trail. The punch landed by Carl was precise and well timed but was it devastating enough to do the damage it did? After revisiting George’s early career problems with Kenny Anderson and watching the first Froch fight again you have to start questioning the chin of the Londoner. Team Sauerland have a very similar problem with the talented but vulnerable 6″9 Liverpudlian heavyweight David Price.

Team Sauerland

Sauerland promotions was founded by German Wilfried Sauerland back in the 80s first managing the likes of knockout king John ‘The Beast’ Mugabi. At age 74 most of the running of the business in its current form is by his sons Kalle and Nisse. They are a very successful team working mostly out of Germany and predominantly with German and Scandinavian fighters.

They currently have 20 fighters on their books, 18 male and 2 female. They are responsible for the concept of the highly successful Super 6 tournament. Their most notable talent is undoubtedly former World Champion Mikkel Kessler. With the Dane closing in on retirement they are in desperate need of a new cash cow and potentially Brits David Price and George Groves could fill the gap.

George Groves

As aforementioned George may have issues with his ability to take a punch. He’s certainly made a name for himself over the past year but after acting so confident it is important he makes a quick recovery.

There’s little doubt that Groves is a talent. He has great hand speed, a solid jab, decent power and a solid command of the ring. Unfortunately for me the one attribute and probably the most important at the highest level is having a good chin. Over the last two bouts George has probably proved himself the better boxer than Carl but despite this he has lost both contest. From a technical point of view Froch has many flaws. He holds a low left arm despite slowing hand speed and average defensive reflexes. He often leans back when he jabs, punches from the hips and is often open to counter shots from his telegraphed right hands. However because he has power, a long reach, determination, stamina and a great chin this makes up for most of his flaws. Boxers can work on almost any aspect of their game but a solid chin is something you either have or you don’t.

Although I would rate George as a better technical boxer than world champions Sakio Bika and Arthur Abrahams they are both very strong. Would George be able to stand up to their power. George may have a bright future but Sauerland will need to tread carefully because another stoppage loss could bring a premature end to his career.

David Price

Fighting at a pretty decent standard against the likes of John McDermott, Sam Sexton and Audley Harrison, Price looked a class above. Perhaps moving from that level straight to wily veteran Tony Thompson was a mistake by then promoter Frank Maloney. I think Price has the boxing ability to match the likes of Thompson but he couldn’t take his shots. In the second fight although he knocked Thompson down I thought it was worse than he first. He also showed a major stamina problem that night.

In his last outing against Andrej Pala he looked really good and finished the contest with a great right hand in only the third round. However even in this bout he was knocked down by a punch that barely clipped him in round one. Its even more dangerous when promoting heavyweights without punch resistance as more fights at the highest level are finished with one punch.

Sauerland Matchmaking and Management

I still believe that both fighters can become world champions. They both have the potential but Sauerland’s matchmaking skills will be tested to the max along the road. They need to make sure that both fighters don’t avoid punchers completely but need to make sure they build their confidence at times if they have been hurt. The trainers are also vital. Groves and Price both have a long reach which makes it tough when opponents get on the inside. George was throwing a left hook off the ropes when Carl punched straight through the middle. That is an amateur mistake, similarly Price in the second fight v Thompson neglected to hold or use his jab to keep his range another rookie error.

I think Adam Booth would have been a good trainer for David and it was poor to ditch him so early and Fitzpatrick doesn’t have the experience to take Groves to the next level. It can be done. Price needs to look at the example of Wladimir Klitschko of how to succeed with an average chin. The first step is acceptance that you can’t take a punch, the second is doing everything you can to avoid getting hit, holding pushing, jabbing etc. Groves needs to look at someone like Tommy Hearns who had chin and stamina problems but he always tried to dominant the centre of the ring with his long reach and threw lots of 1-2 jab, cross combinations.

If Sauerland can deliver the right team and the right fights a the right time they can all have successful futures but the risk is with these types of fighters everyone is just one big punch away from disaster.