Eubank Jr: “George Groves is getting knocked out cold”

By Boxing News - 02/16/2018 - Comments

Image: Eubank Jr: “George Groves is getting knocked out cold”

By Scott Gilfoid: Chris Eubank Jr. is predicting a vicious knockout win over WBA Super World super middleweight champion George Groves on Saturday for their semifinals match in the WBSS tournament. For Eubank Jr. to follow through with his bold prediction, he’s going to need to put his chin and midsection on the line by standing in the pocket long enough for him to land a massive amount of punches for him to get the knockout.

(Photo credit: World Boxing Super Series)

We already know that Eubank Jr. can’t punch for the 168 or the 160-pound weight divisions. That means Eubank Jr. is going to need to land a storm of shots for him to knockout Groves on the night. Can Eubank Jr. do this without getting hit in the bread basket and sent down for the count. I have my doubts. We could be seeing another Jamie Cox type ending for Eubank Jr.

Both guys weighed in Friday and were within the 168-pound weigh-in limit. Groves, 29, has VERY dark circles under both eyes that had him looking extremely ill. Groves initially was wearing sunglasses in what appeared to be an attempt to hide the dark circles under his eyes. When the sunglasses came off, we saw a very haggard looking Groves. I hate to say it but Groves looked TERRIBLE today. I’ve never seen him look this bad before a weigh-in. It looks to me like Groves needs to move up to 175. I don’t know how much longer Groves can continue to make 168 without jeopardizing his health.

Eubank Jr. is the favorite going into the fight, but the odds-makers are basing their views on his wins over marginal opposition. Eubank Jr. has had a lot soft opposition like Avni Yildirim, Renold Quinlan, Arthur Abraham and Tom Doran.

“I think this is George’s last little hurrah before he settles down and has his family, and relaxes for the rest of his life. I’m going to help him on that path. George Groves is getting knocked out cold,” Eubank Jr. said to skysports.com.

Eubank Jr. looked better at the weigh-in, but that doesn’t mean he’s going to win the fight. It’s going to depend on whether Groves (28-3, 20 KOs) can put the weight back on without him being drained. If Groves is strong on Saturday, it’s going to be a tough ask for the 28-year-old Eubank Jr. (26-1, 20 KOs) to stand up to his punching power. Groves is basically 2 divisions above Eubank Jr. in size. It’s more than just 1 weight class that separates the 2 fighters. Eubank Jr. is a middleweight posing as a super middleweight. Eubank Jr. is not even a big middleweight. He’s a small middleweight.

Groves is a light heavyweight posing as a super middleweight. Groves is a normal sized light heavyweight. As such, we’re talking about fighters that are 2 weight classes apart in size. Would Eubank Jr. be able to stand up against light heavyweights like Dmitry Bivol, Artur Beterbiev and Sergey Kovalev? I think Eubank Jr. would do alight for 3 to 4 rounds against those fighters, but eventually their punching power would start to wear him down until he’s ready to be knocked out. I think we’re going to see the same thing on Saturday night with Groves. Eubank Jr. will well in the first 4 rounds, but after that, Groves’ size and heavy hands are going to play a big factor in him taking over the fight entirely. There are weight divisions for a reason. I respect Eubank Jr. for moving up to the 168 lb. weight class to try and win the Muhammad Ali Trophy in the World Boxing Super Series tournament, but he’s facing a light heavyweight in Groves, and that’s just too much size difference between them. Groves is way too big and strong for Eubank Jr. in my estimation.

“I told him he’s not ready. George ain’t ready, I can see it in his eyes,” Eubank Jr. said “He walked in here with his shades on. He doesn’t want to be here. He wants to get put into retirement, so that’s what we’re going to do on Saturday night. I’m taking that belt home.”

The 29-year-old Groves is as ready as he’s ever going to be for this fight. The only way Groves loses this fight is if making weight took too much out of him. That’s very possible, because like I said, I have never ever seen Groves look so bad at a weight-in before. The dark shadows under Groves’ eyes and the absence of hair on top of his head make him look unhealthy and much older than his 29 years. Just looking at Groves, he had the appearance of a guy in his 40s at the very least. But if Groves is able to put the weight back on overnight and not be negatively affected by it, then I think Eubank Jr. is in for a real beat down on Saturday night.

There’s way too much size and power difference between Groves and Eubank Jr. That much is going to be apparent once the fight moves into the second half. There’s too much size that separates these 2 guys. If Groves lands something big in the 1st round, I wouldn’t be surprised if Eubank Jr. is done straightaway. We could see a fast knockout in this fight, and it won’t be Groves that is knocked out.

Eubank Jr. isn’t a big puncher even for the 160 lb. weight class. Eubank Jr. can only win by landing a ton of shots, and that’s the wrong way to win against a fighter that is for all intents and purposes 2 weight classes bigger than him in Groves. For Europe to do well, he’s going to have to try and land a lot of shots for as long as he can, because he’s not a big puncher.

These are the results of Eubank Jr’s last 5 fights:

• Avini Yildirim – TKO 3

• Arthur Abraham – 12 round unanimous decision

• Renold Quinlan – TKO 10

• Tom Doran – TJO 4

• Nick Blackwell – TKO 10

Yildirim arguably shouldn’t even be ranked in the top 40 in my opinion, because he’s a dreadful looking fighter. The only thing Eubank Jr. proved in stopping Yildirim in round 3 is the World Boxing Council dropped the ball in ranking the inexperienced German based fighter so highly in their rankings. I don’t rate Yildirim as even a top 40 guy. Doran, Blackwell and Quinlan are domestic level fighters, and not world class or even close to being world class. Abraham was over-the-hill badly when Eubank Jr. fought him. Those are the guys Eubank Jr. has been padding his record against recently. There’s no talent with any of those guys. It’s all fluff opposition for Eubank Jr. I hate to say it, but Eubank Jr. is hyped badly and his resume is a mirage.

”There must be people putting money on Eubank, but sadly they’re going to lose it,” Groves said. “I’m in the prime of my career; I’m fighting better than ever, so it’s just another fight.”