jack (Photo credit: Sumio Yamada) By Scott Gilfoid: WBC super middleweight champion Badou Jack (19-1-1, 12 KOs) isn’t worried at all about him winning his first title defense against #1 WBC George Groves (21-2, 16 KOs) in their upcoming bout. The fight doesn’t have an official date as of yet, but Jack says it’ll be either on August 22nd or September 12th in Las Vegas, Nevada.

This is Jack’s new hometown and he’s chomping at the bit to fight there and impress his fans. If it does take place in Vegas, we’ll likely see it at the MGM Grand.

Jack feels that the 27-year-old Groves is a tough fighter, and he thinks he might even give him a tougher fight than Anthony Dirrell, who Jack recently beat last April to capture the WBC 168 pound title. That wasn’t an easy fight, and if Jack is going in that direction, then he’s clearly wrong. Jack barely won the fight.

Dirrell lost because he failed to throw combinations. His corner was asking him to throw combos, but he focused on throwing one punch at a time and let the fight get away from him.

“I have to talk to Leonard [Ellerbe] and Floyd [Mayweather] about the date,” Badou Jack said via PBinsider. “If it’s August 22nd or September 12th, I’m ready. It’s exciting [fighting in Las Vegas]. It’s my hometown now, and I would love to put on a show at the MGM. He’s [Groves] a very good fighter. I expect a tougher fight than [Anthony] Dirrell. I’m going to come out and be victorious. I take one fight at a time. George Groves is a tough opponent, but I’ve got to take care of business,” Jack said.

With the kind of pressure that Jack put on Dirrell, I think he’d score a knockout if he applies the same kind of pressure on the tender-chinned Groves. We’ve seen Groves fold up like a cheap suit from the pressure and heavy shots in his two fights against Froch. Groves just does not handle pressure at all, and he seems to go to pieces if he’s put under the gun with the way Jack will be doing with him in this fight.

Since his losses to Froch, Groves has faced to weak punchers in Christopher Rebrasse and Denis Douglin, both of which he beat. Rebrasse was ranked highly at the time that Groves fought him, but he’s clearly a 2nd tier fighter with an inflated ranking by the World Boxing Council. I don’t rate Rebrasse as a top 50 contender. It’s safe to say that if Groves had fought a good contender since his last fight against Froch in 2014, Groves would likely have been knocked out again.

Badou Jack’s punching power and pressure is going to give Groves fits in this fight. If Groves doesn’t run from Jack to escape his pressure, then I see Jack getting a quick knockout win. Groves can’t stay in the pocket against a talent like Jack because the guys’ power is excellent and his pressure is literally nonstop. Jack does not let up for a second and he’s capable of putting a real beat down on Groves, which is what I expect to happen in this fight.