By Scott Gilfoid: #4 WBC George Groves (19-2, 15 KOs) feels confident that he’s going to win his next two fights to capture the WBC super middleweight title so that he can go after bigger fights like a rematch against IBF/WBA 168 pound champion Carl Froch.
Groves has lost his last two fights to Froch, yet he wants to fight him again because he thinks that he’d have a good chance of beating him in a third fight.
The World Boxing Council has made Groves’s next fight on September 20th against #2 WBC Christopher Rebrasse (22-2-3, 6 KOs) a WBC super middleweight title eliminator for some reason. I’m not sure what their criteria is picking out fighters for their eliminators, but I don’t think I’ve ever heard of a fighter taking part in a title eliminator on the back of consecutive knockout losses like Groves.
For me, that’s the first time I’ve ever seen that done before. The WBC’s move to let Groves fight in an eliminator bout after back to back knockout defeats to Froch is troubling to say the least. It makes about as much sense as the WBA installing Jarrod Fletcher at #2 in their rankings at 160 and agreeing to make his fight against Daniel Jacobs a fight for the vacant WBA middleweight title last Saturday night.
“We want to challenge for the title sooner rather than later,” Groves said to Buncey’s Boxing Podcast. “We’ve identified the WBC as the most logical route. If I win this fight [Rebrasse], then my next fight will be for the world title. If I win that, I’ll be a world champion and we’ll go from there. I’m two fights away from becoming a world champion. We’ll then decide which fights are out there. I would like another crack at Froch.”
I fully expect Groves to beat Rebrasse without any problems, because that guy has zero power and he has no business being ranked at No.2 by the WBC. I see Rebrasse as a top 40 guy, but definitely not a No.2 fighter. That’s a bizarre ranking. But Groves’ problems will start as soon as he gets past the little known Rebrasse, because then he’ll need to deal with facing the winner of this Saturday’s fight between WBC 168lb champ Sakio Bika and the unbeaten talent Anthony Dirrell.
I can’t see Groves beating either of those guys. They’re guys with massive brute strength that will be looking to expose his chin the way that Froch did. If Groves couldn’t stand up to Froch’s power in their two fights, then how is he going to take the shots from Dirrell or Bika?
I rate those guys right up there with Froch, but they’re a heck of a lot trickier with their shots than Froch is, especially Dirrell. His hand speed is so incredible that Groves is going to be getting hit with shots that he doesn’t even see coming. Those are the work kinds of punches to be getting hit with, and I can’t see him being able to take many of them before he hits the canvas face first like he did last May in his knockout loss in Wembley Stadium to Froch.
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