By Scott Gilfoid: George Groves (25-3, 18 KOs) and Fedor Chudinov have been officially added to the May 27th Kell Brook vs. Errol Spence Jr. card as the chief support at Bramall Lane in Sheffield, England. Groves-Chudinov is a decent fight, but I would have preferred a better match-up than this as the chief support. I’m sorry, but a 3-time world title challenger loser like Groves facing a guy that lost his last fight in Chudinov is not a great fight in my book.
By Scott Gilfoid: #1 WBA Fedor Chudinov (14-1, 10 KOs) will be fighting #2 WBA George Groves (25-3, 18 KOs) for the vacant WBA Super World super middleweight title. The fight was announced last Saturday. The date and venue has yet to be determined, but the fight will be taking place in England, the home country of the 29-year-old Groves.
By Scott Gilfoid: IBF super middleweight champion James DeGale (23-1-1, 14 KOs) is looking for a big fight in his next bout in June, as he wants to face Gennady “GGG” Golovkin, Andre Ward or George Groves. DeGale, 31, is also interested in facing unbeaten Callum Smith. DeGale is reportedly close to a deal on fighting one of those guys. It would be interesting to know which one it’ll be for DeGale. My guess is Groves. DeGale lost a close 12 round decision to Groves in 2011, and he’s been wanting to avenge that title for a long time.
By Scott Gilfoid: IBF super middleweight champion James DeGale just can’t seem to stay focused on his opponent WBC champion Badou Jack (20-1-2, 12 KOs) for this Saturday night for some reason, because he’s thinking of other fights he’d like to have in the future against George Groves (25-3, 18 KOs).
DeGale (23-1, 14 KOs) was already beaten by Groves six years ago in 2011, and the two have never met up in a rematch. If both guys can win their next fights, it’s possible that a unification fight can take place in 2017.
By Scott Gilfoid: IBF super middleweight champion James DeGale (23-1, 14 KOs) could be facing George Groves (25-3, 18 KOs) this year in a unification fight if Groves beats Fedor Chudinov to win the WBA strap, and if DeGale gets past both WBC champ Badou Jack (20-1-2, 12 KOs) and #1 WBC mandatory Callum Smith. Sky sports commentator Carl Froch is picking Groves to beat DeGale if they face each other.
Groves, 28, already beat DeGale by a questionable 12 round majority division six years ago in 2011, and he’s put together four straight wins over weak opposition since his latest loss to Badou Jack in 2015. These are the guys that Groves beat: Eduard Gutknecht, Martin Murray, David Brophy, and Andrea Di Luisa.
By Scott Gilfoid: IBF super middleweight champion James DeGale (23-1, 14 KOs) claims he has his focus entirely on his unification match against WBC champion Badou Jack (20-1-2, 12 KOs) in their scheduled fight on January 14, but the 30-year-old DeGale’s mind seems to be wondering as he draws closer to that fight. DeGale is now looking past the Jack fight towards bigger money matches against British fighters Callum Smith and George Groves.
DeGale believes he can get all three of those fights in 2017 and win them all. I think DeGale is dreaming. He’ll be lucky if he gets past Badou in their fight on January 14 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
By Gav Duthie: An incredible year for George Groves 25-3 (18) has ended bittersweet. On the one hand 4 victories in 2016 has secured him a WBA Super title shot against Fedor Chudinov but George’s last opponent Eduard Gutknecht spends Christmas and new year in an induced coma.
Groves form supreme
Many see Groves as a nearly man, after 3 failed attempts at securing a world title is he good enough to win one? The best preparation to find out is to fight others in a similar situation. Martin Murray has fought for 4 titles (Felix Sturm, Sergio Martinez, Gennady Golovkin, Arthur Abraham) with Gutknecht twice (Stiegletz, Juergen Braehmer). Groves showed his superiority over these two by not only winning but winning easily where former champions had struggled. Add this to his wins early on in the year against Andrea De Luisa and the previously unbeaten David Brophy its been a great year for George.
By Scott Gilfoid: IBF super middleweight champion James DeGale (23-1, 14 KOs) is already looking past his January 14 unification match against WBC champ Badou Jack (20-1-2, 12 KOs) for a fight against WBC mandatory Callum Smith and then what could be a unification match against George Groves if he gets past Fedor Chudinov.
DeGale, 30, has to win his fight against the highly talented pressure fighter Badou Jack first next month in their match at the beautiful Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. That’s a toss-up fight. Badou has got the fighting style that could give DeGale huge headaches, especially with his body punches.
By Scott Gilfoid: #3 WBA contender George Groves (25-3, 18 KOs) is hoping to fight #1 WBA Fedor Chudinov (14-1, 10 KOs) for the vacant WBA super middleweight title in March. The World Boxing Association is going to have Groves and the 29-year-old former WBA 168lb champion Chudinov fight for the recently vacated title.
The only question is when does the fight take place? Felix Sturm recently vacated the WBA title. He beat Chudinov by a controversial 12 round decision last February in Germany. I saw the fight and had Chudinov winning, but he did not look good at all in that contest. The hand speed or lack thereof was just missing with Chudinov. He made what should have been an easy fight into a very difficult one because of his slow hands.
By Scott Gilfoid: Super middleweight contender George Groves (24-3, 18 KOs) defeated former light heavyweight title challenge Eduard Gutknecht (30-5-1, 13 KOs) by 12 round unanimous decision on Friday night to hold onto his WBA International super middleweight title at the Wembley Arena in London, England. Groves won, but he didn’t distinguish himself as being future world champion material. Groves looked like the same fighter that was soundly whipped by Carl Froch in the past.
The win for Groves puts him in position for a world title fight in 2017. Groves said after the fight that he wants to fight WBC super middleweight champion Badou Jack next year so that he can try and avenge his loss to him from 2015.