By Scott Gilfoid: Three time title challenger loser George Groves (21-3, 16 KOs) will be fighting two months from now against an opponent still to be determined on January 30th at the Copper Box Arena, Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, Hackney Wick, London.

Groves, #3 WBC, wants to get another crack at a world title after having lost for the third time in world title fights last September in getting beaten by WBC super middleweight champion Badou Jack on the undercard of the Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Andre Berto fight.

It was a fight that Groves could have won, but he gassed out in the second half of the contest and let the fight get away from him. Groves, 27, is still in good position to get another world title fight, but he needs to get some wins under his belt before he challenges for a title.

Ideally, Groves needs to try and fix his stamina issues and work on his defense. I don’t think Groves will be able to do much about his punch resistance or lack thereof, but he can at least improve his defense so that he doesn’t keep getting brained left and right each time he steps it up against quality opposition. Carl Froch knocked Groves out twice, and Badou had him on the canvas briefly.

‘’It’s great to be back,’’ said Groves. ‘’I’m looking forward to boxing in London again. This is a chance for me start the New Year on the front foot. I want to get as many fights as possible and start building momentum as I work my way back into World title contention.’’

I think Groves’ best bet would be for him to go after WBO champion Arthur Abraham in the future. However, I’m not too sure how much longer Abraham will be able to hold onto his WBO title, because his next fight will be against the 6’3” Gilberto Ramirez, and I can definitely see him losing that fight. Groves vs. Ramirez would be a tough match-up for Groves because he would have to deal with Ramirez’s size, range and punching power. He’s a good body puncher.

I think Callum Smith has surpassed Groves at this point in his career. I think Smith will get exposed as well when he eventually steps it up against someone who actually fight, but for now, Smith would have to be seen as a better fighter than Groves right now. With that said, I see the Dirrell brothers, Patrick Nielsen and Ramirez as being better fighters than Groves and Smith. Those are talented fighters that can and will win titles in the future.

Some boxing fans think Groves is going downhill as a fighter and that his best years were before he lost to Froch. When you look at Groves back in 2011, when he beat James DeGale, and compare him to how he’s looked in the last couple of years, I think it’s hard to disagree with people who think he’s over-the-hill. We’re going to find out soon whether Groves’s punch resistance is shot. He’s going to need to be able to take some heavy punches for him win a world title and hold onto it for anything length of time.