By Trevor McIntyre: George Groves weighed in at 167.8 pounds for his fight against Callum Smith in the World Boxing Super Series final this Friday night at the King Abdullah Sports City, in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
The taller 6’3” Smith weighed in slightly less at 167.3 pounds. The two fighters looked in good shape as they stood for their final face off before they meet each other on Friday. It was a long stare down for Groves (28-3, 20 KOs) and the 28-year-old Smith (24-0, 17 KOs). There wasn’t much to get from the stare down.
Smith looked emotionless as he stared at Groves, who looked considerably shorter at 5’11 ½”. This is the tallest opponent the 30-year-old Groves has faced during his 10-year pro career. It should be interesting to see how he copes with the height, reach, power and youth advantage of Smith. The one thing that Groves has a BIG advantage over Smith is in the experience department.
Groves has fought the far better opposition during his career than Smith. That’s something that could be a factor on Friday. This is really the first time in Smith’s career where he’s fighting a high level super middleweight. Up until now, Smith has been matched against a lot of lesser guys like Nieky Holzken, Erik Skoglund, Luke Blackledge, Rocky Fielding, Nikola Njekloca, Hadillah Mohoumadi and Christopher Rebrasse. Those are the best of the bunch that Smith has faced during his career, and they pale next to the top guys Groves has fought.
“I will knockout Callum Smith,” Groves said to IFL TV. ”I believe so,” Groves said when asked if he’ll be able to knockout Smith. ”His chin hasn’t been tested. It’s an unknown. He hasn’t been tested by someone that hits as hard as me. The pressure I’m going to put on him, the pace I’m going to make him fight at, I don’t think he’s going to be able to cope with that. I’m going to hurt him, and I’m definitely going to be able to finish him. I’m going to be landing big shots from he get go,” Groves said.
For Groves to knockout Smith, he’s going to need to stand in front of him and take risks of getting hit with one of his big power shots in return. Groves hasn’t shown to have the best chin in the division when facing big punchers like Carl Froch and Badou Jack. Even Martin Murray, Denis Douglin and Christopher Rebrasse troubled Groves with their punching power. Kenny Anderson had Groves badly hurt in the early rounds in their fight in 2010. Groves weathered the storm, but he was clearly hurt in that fight.
More than Groves’ ability to take a good shot, it’s his surgically repaired left shoulder that a lot of boxing fans are wondering about for the WBSS this Friday. Will Groves’ shoulder hold up during the entire fight? His left shoulder came out of the socket in the 12th round his World Boxing Super Series semifinal fight against Chris Eubank Jr. last February. Groves fought the entire 12th round with his left shoulder out of the socket. There’s no telling how much extra damage Groves did to the shoulder by continuing to fight instead of taking a knee and bowing out of the fight in order to minimize damage. The boxing pubic would have understood Groves quitting at that point, as he would have been thinking about his future in the sport. Groves has since has surgery on his shoulder, and he’s fully rehabbed it to the point where he claims that it’s “100 percent.” We’re not going to be able to tell whether that’s so or not until Friday night. However, it’s difficult to believe that Groves’ shoulder will be what it once was.
“My shoulder is perfectly fine. It’s a very good, strong, functional shoulder. You can ask my sparring partners,” Groves said about his surgically repaired left shoulder. ”It works. It’s fast. It’s as good as ever. I have no concerns or hang ups about the shoulder. I’m not going into the fight compromised in the slightest. We’ve had time to rehab it. Fortunately for us, it was a shoulder injury that could be rehabbed back to full fitness, and that’s where it is now. It’s a full, functional, stable shoulder. It’s fast, its strong. I’ve been sparring with cruiserweights. They’ve been wrestling, head-butting it, elbowing it, everything, and it’s held up. I’m good to go,” Groves said.
If Groves’ left shoulder is what it was before, then he’s going to be a real problem for Smith, who looked poor in his last two fights against Holzken and Skoglund in the World Boxing Super Series. Smith looked beatable in both fights against guys that Groves likely would have taken out quickly.
”On paper, Smith is a better fighter [than Chris Eubank Jr.]. He’s bigger, probably more seasoned, and he has better physical attributes. With Eubank, we knew we could control him and easily out-box him.”
With his speed and fast-pace fighting style, Eubank Jr. would give Smith huge headaches and likely stop him. Smith is a good puncher, but Eubank Jr. would be all wrong for him. You can argue that Groves is underestimating Eubank Jr’s talent and overvaluing what Smith brings to the table. Eubank Jr. is a very good fighter no matter how bad he looked in losing to Groves last February. Groves had the right physical tools and game plan to neutralize Eubank’s talent. Smith doesn’t possess the same weapons. He’s slow, easy to hit and he has poor stamina. Smith is made o order for a fighter like Eubank Jr.
“He’s dangerous early,” Groves said about Smith. ”A lot of his wins have come with 1st round knockouts and early round knockouts. He can also carry his power late, but he goes off the boil if he can’t have things his own way, especially after a few rounds. He can’t maintain his focus and drains. He can’t sustain his energy levels. He’s venturing into a lot of unknowns territories for himself,” Groves said about Smith.
Smith will be dangerous for as long as the fight lasts on Friday. Groves needs to try and knock Smith out early so that he doesn’t need to wory about him the entire fight. If Groves leaves Smith out there until the later rounds, he could give him severe trouble in the championship rounds with his heavy hands and body punching. Badou Jack wore Groves down with the body punching he was doing in their fight in 2015. This paid dividends in the later rounds when Groves gassed out and was unable to mount any kind of offense to pull out the fight when it was still winnable.
