Froch-Groves 2

By Scott Gilfoid: George Groves (19-2, 15 KO’s) was out cold for three seconds last night after getting knocked out by IBF/WBA super middleweight champion Carl Froch (33-2, 24 KO’s) in their second and likely final fight between. Groves said that when he came to, he was ready to get back up and resume fighting if the referee Charlie Fitch hadn’t held him down to keep him from getting back to his feet. Fitch did the smart thing in stopping the fight at that moment.

When Groves did finally get to his feet, he didn’t look good as he staggered slightly while walking to his corner to sit down on a stool.

By Anthony Mason: IBF/WBA super middleweight champion Carl Froch (33-2, 24 KO’s) had a magnificent knockout over the outclassed George Groves (19-2, 15 KO’s). Froch vs Groves was a major event in the British boxing world today and a lot of anticipation was behind the event. However, it is hard to see, outside of the hype, trash talk, and controversial nature of the last bout, what made this fight so highly anticipated.

George Groves has not one impressive win on his record, outside of a beyond washed up Glen Johnson. Froch and Groves are good boxers, but there is not much to suggest that they are great. Froch is elite, but it is hard to see how he can compare with the truly great fighters of Britain’s past. Perhaps the high anticipation is a result of the diminished quality of British boxing since the early 1960s, the last days of Randolph Turpin’s career.

By Allan Fox: Adam Booth, the former trainer for George Groves (19-2, 15 KO’s), wasn’t pleased with the mistakes that he made tonight in his loss to IBF/WBA super middleweight champion Carl Froch (33-2, 24 KO’s). Booth thought that Groves telegraphed a left hook and this enabled Froch to take advantage of it by hitting him with a right hand to the head in the 8th round to knock him out. Booth said that he’s gone over this with Groves during the time he was his trainer. It looks like Groves must have forgotten the lessons from Booth.

“George opened his arm out for the left hook. It is something we talked about from day one but if you make a mistake like that then you will lose,” Booth said to the BBC. “I could see from the first round that Carl was sweeping that left hook across. He was doing that to keep George occupied. George looked a little heavy on his legs at times and when Carl senses the time was right that is when he made his move. It was sad to see.”

By Scott Gilfoid: IBF/WBA super middleweight champion Carl Froch (33-2, 24 KO’s) put an end to his rivalry with George Groves (19-2, 15 KO’s) tonight by stopping him in the 8th round with a right hand to the head at the Wembley Stadium in London, UK. The ending was sudden and shocking with Froch nailing Groves with a right hand shot that put him down on his back on the canvas.

Groves didn’t stir for a second or two while he was down on his back, and that was enough for the referee Charlie Fitch to stop the fight. But as soon as Fitch called a halt to the fight, Groves was able to sit up as if he had woken from a nap, and he immediately started protesting the stoppage. Fitch did the right thing in this case because Groves was badly hurt and Fitch had no way of knowing if he would get up.

By Scott Gilfoid: IBF/WBA super middleweight champion Carl Froch (32-2, 23 KO’s) admits that he’s starting to feel the case of the nerves now that his rematch with George Groves (19-1, 15 KO’s) is only hours away. Froch, 36, will be fighting in front of 80,000 fans at Wembley Stadium in London, UK.

A loss for Froch could be the equivalent of the passing of the baton from the old to the young, as Groves has already said that he’s not interested in fighting Froch a third time. As such, Froch could find himself out of luck if he gets whipped tonight by Groves. What would be especially bad for Froch if he were to be knocked out by Groves, because he would then have no opportunity to get a third fight with him in order to avenge his defeat.

By Scott Gilfoid: David Haye is still sitting on the fence as far as who will win the Carl Froch vs. George Groves rematch on Saturday night. Being friends with both fighters, Haye appears to be purposely holding back his opinion about who he thinks will win the fight. But Haye does drop hints in how he thinks it’ll go when he talks about Groves’ ability to out-box Froch if that’s something that he plans on trying for this fight.

“I can see George out-boxing Carl. George is a very, very good boxer,” Haye said to IFL TV. “I’ve done a lot of rounds with him and he’s difficult to catch. When he decides to box, he’s very, very difficult. He’s hard to hit clean. He’s slippery, and he’s got fast hands. On the flipside, Carl has the most awkward style ever; he doesn’t do anything pretty. You don’t teach anyone to do that, but somehow it works.”

(Photos Courtesy HBO/Ed Mulholland) By Scott Gilfoid: George Groves (19-1, 15 KO’s) says that Carl Froch’s excuses he’s made recently about him not being 100% for their previous fight last November is nothing but Froch telling lies. Groves says that Froch was saying how he was in excellent shape before their first but it wasn’t until afterwards when he struggled, then he came up with the excuses about not being at his best.

“Go back and watch this time before the first fight – He [Froch] said he was in perfect condition and was hitting all his targets,” Groves said to Skysports.com. “Either he was lying then or he was lying now. Carl’s a liar. Simple as that. He’s used the excuse in the first fight saying he wasn’t ready.”

By Scott Gilfoid: IBF/WBA super middleweight champion Carl Froch expects to be able to beat George Groves no matter which tactic he tries on Saturday night in their rematch. Froch weighed in at 167.5 lbs. at today’s weigh-in. Groves weighed a little less at 166.25 lbs. The fact that Groves came in a little less is a good sign because it suggests that he worked out hard with his conditioning coach to fix his stamina problem that he had from his last fight against Froch.

I don’t usually put a big emphasis on what fighters weigh. The main thing to look for is whether someone is drained or not and looking skeletal at the weigh-in. If you see a fighter looking like that then it’s a good sign they’re not going to be at 100%. Even if they still win, they’re still not at 100% due to the stress that they put on their body. The weight isn’t going to be a factor in Saturday’s rematch.

(Photo credit: HBO) By Scott Gilfoid: George Groves (19-1, 15 KO’s) doesn’t see himself wearing down against Carl Froch (32-2, 23 KO’s) in their rematch this weekend like he did the last time they fought. Groves figures he’s going to improve each and every round, and his main focus will be to give Froch a methodical beating by the numbers to make sure that he gets the victory.

“I’m going to get better and better with every round,” Groves said via Sky Sports. “I’m not going to give everything away but round on round, I will get better and it’s up to Carl to hang in there. I can go 12 rounds if needs be. It’ll be one-sided from the start.”