Groves: I’ll be announcing myself as the best fighter at 168 on September 12th

By Boxing News - 08/29/2015 - Comments

1-George GrovesBy Scott Gilfoid: George Groves (21-2, 16 KOs) says he’s going to be making a big statement with his fight against WBC super middleweight champion Badou Jack (19-1-1, 12 KOs) in their fight on September 12th on the undercard of the Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Andre Berto fight in two weeks from now at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Groves, 27, says that he’s going to show/announce that he’s the best fighter in the super middleweight division with the outcome of his fight against the 31-year-old Jack.

“I want to announce myself as the best fighter in the division and I’m planning on doing that Sept. 12,” Groves said. “There won’t be any question marks. After I win this fight, I’ll have proof.”

Oh boy, Groves seems to be dreaming here. I think someone needs to sit him down and pour him a good cup of coffee while they show videos of Andre Ward and Andre Dirrell’s fights in the background so that Groves can realize what he’s up against in the 168lb division. Heck, even if you humor Groves and assume that he’s going to beat Badou Jack, it still doesn’t make Groves the best fighter in the 168lb division.

Ward hasn’t officially given up his WBA Super World super middleweight title yet, and Andre Dirrell is still there at No.9 IBF, ready and willing to get another title shot. I’m not sure if Dirrell cares much about the WBC title though, because he seems to be more interested in facing James DeGale again so that he can take his IBF strap from him.

“My main concern is winning that WBC belt,” Groves said. “I carry power. I have good hands and foot speed. I can control the fight from anywhere. The mistakes that Badou Jack makes, I will take advantage of.”

I really don’t think that Groves will be able to take advantage of the mistakes that Jack makes, because I believe it’s going to be Jack who will be taking advantage of the mistakes that Groves makes in this fight. With Groves, he’s likely going to be running around on the outside with his David Haye type fighting style, and this in turn is going to cause him to wear down quickly like an old clock. Groves is a fighter that is arguably fighting in the wrong division anyway.

I think Groves should be fighting at light heavyweight, and that might explain why he has stamina problems once he gets past the 6th round. But with all the needless movement that Groves will be making to try and escape Badou Jack’s pressure, I see this resulting in Groves wearing down fast on September 12th, making him vulnerable to Jack’s heavy shots. It doesn’t matter that Jack doesn’t have the kind of punching power that Carl Froch used to possess, he’ll likely hurt Groves just the same due to Groves being exhausted from all the movement that he’ll be doing in this fight.

Jack is excellent at pressuring his opponent with the way he walks them down, and Groves isn’t going to like that pressure one bit. He’s obviously seen video of Jack’s recent fight against Anthony Dirrell, but Groves still doesn’t know what it’s like to be pressured by Jack. Once he starts feeling Jack’s heavy shots, Groves will be on his bicycle and will be running around the ring trying to escape the pressure. Groves will then make the same mistake that Anthony Dirrell did in trying to beat Jack with single pot shots, hoping that he can hurt him with one of those single shots. When it fails to work, Groves will continue to run and wind up wearing himself out with his nonstop movement.

“I’m a valuable commodity in the UK and it’s about time I started building my brand in the states,” Groves said. This is a huge opportunity being on the Mayweather card.”

If Groves thinks he’s going to start building a fan base in the United States in the same way that Gennady Golovkin has, he’s kidding himself. I don’t see that happening. First of all, for Groves to build a fan base in the U.S, he’ll need to fight over there frequently, not just once in a while. I see the Jack-Groves fight as a one off type thing for Groves. He’s fighting in the U.S now for this fight, but I doubt that he’ll be back anytime soon. Further, for Groves to build a fan base in the U.S, he’ll need to stop losing left and right. I mean, how in the heck can you build a fan base when you keep getting knocked out by Froch?

It would certainly help if Groves stopped getting knocked out. Another reason why I can’t see Groves building a fan base in the United States is because he’ll need to fight top guys like the Dirrell brothers, Gilberto Ramirez and Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. in the U.S. for him to start building a fan base over there, and I can’t see Groves beating any of those guys.

“People like to see me fight. I look to take the opponent out and that will be the same on Sept. 12,” Groves said. “Once Badou Jack leaves an opening, I will take it. I plan to look very good doing so.”

Man, I hope that Groves doesn’t go to pieces when Badou Jack is still standing after he lands one of his shots. Jack has a good chin, and he’s not going to drop for the 10 count the first time that Groves lands one of his right hand bombs in this fight. Groves better be ready for the return fire that will be coming his way from Jack, who is an excellent body puncher. Jack is one of the best body punchers in the super middleweight division. It’s going to be really tough for Groves to be able to take the heavy body shots that Jack will be nailing him with. Jack obviously realizes that Groves is going to be scurrying around the ring this way and that way all night long, but Groves’ body will still be there for him to hit no matter how much he runs in this fight.



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