By Scott Gilfoid: WBC super middleweight champion Badou Jack (20-1-1, 12 KOs) thinks Britain’s George Groves (21-3, 16 KOs) should turn to IBF 168lb champion James DeGale for a fight if he’s still eager to try and win a world title.
The 27-year-old Groves came up empty last night in losing a 12 round split decision to Jack at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada. Jack doesn’t think it’s such a great idea for Groves to try and fight him again for the title, because he feels he’d beat him again.
By Scott Gilfoid: #1 WBC challenger George Groves (21-3, 16 KOs) is still trying to come to terms with losing a close 12 round split decision last Saturday night in his failed title challenge against WBC super middleweight champion Badou Jack (20-1-1, 12 KOs) at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Groves is now a three-time world title challenger loser. He’s fought for world titles three times and lost all three times. I suppose if he keeps getting chances in the future, he’ll eventually win a world title at some point, but I have serious doubts whether he can do that after seeing him fall apart last night in the last six rounds against Badou.
By Tim Fletcher: Unbeaten WBA/WBC welterweight champion Floyd “Money” Mayweather Jr. (49-0, 26 KOs) easily beat a sluggish and shot looking Andre Berto (30-4, 23 KOs) by a one-sided 12 round unanimous decision on Saturday night on the Showtime pay-per-view card at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada. The final judges’ scores were 117-111, 118-110 and 120-108.
By Scott Gilfoid: WBC super middleweight champion Badou Jack (19-1-1, 12 KOs) and challenger George Groves (21-2, 16 KOs) both weighed in successfully on Friday afternoon for their fight tonight at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada. Badou weighed in at 167.5 pounds, and looked like he was ready to step inside the ring immediately to begin fighting.
Groves weighed in at 168 pounds right at the super middleweight limit, and appeared to be thin from having taken off water weight. You can always tell a weight drained fighter by looking at their midsection.
By Scott Gilfoid: IBF super middleweight champion James DeGale (21-1, 14 KOs) is pulling for #1 WBC George Groves (21-2, 16 KOs) to defeat WBC super middleweight champion Badou Jack (19-1-1, 12 KOs) this Saturday night in their fight at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada. DeGale thinks that if Groves wins the fight then he’ll be able to fight Groves at Wembley Stadium in London, UK next summer so that he can try and avenge his previous loss to him from four years ago in 2011.
Groves beat DeGale by a 12 round majority decision in that fight. But since then, DeGale appears to have improved, whereas Groves seems to have aged suddenly since losing back to back fights to Carl Froch. Groves has not looked good since the losses to Froch, even though he’s won his last two fights to Christopher Rebrasse and Denis Douglin.
By Scott Gilfoid: WBC super middleweight champion Badou Jack (19-1-1, 12 KOs) doesn’t think too much of his opponent George Groves (21-2, 16 KOs) and all his bragging about his experience and his talent.
When Badou looks at the 27-year-old Groves, he sees a two-time world title loser, and a fighter who got popular from having been knocked out twice by Carl Froch. Badou doesn’t see anything that Groves has actually accomplished with his career other than being a knockout victim in his fights against Froch, if you want to call that an accomplishment.
LAS VEGAS, Nev. (Sept. 10, 2015) – The fighters who will appear on the stacked, action-packed “HIGH STAKES: Mayweather vs. Berto” undercard this Saturday, September 12 live on SHOWTIME PPV (8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT) from the MGM Grand Garden Arena took part in their final press conference Thursday at MGM Grand.
In the three pay-per-view fights preceding Saturday’s main event between Floyd “Money” Mayweather (48-0, 26 KOs) and Andre Berto (30-3, 23 KOs), Roman “Rocky” Martinez (29-2-2, 17 KOs) will defend his WBO Junior Lightweight Title in a rematch against four-time world champion Orlando “Siri” Salido (42-13-2, 29 KOs), Badou Jack “The Ripper” (19-1-1, 12 KOs) will make the first defense of his WBC Super Middleweight World Title against mandatory challenger “Saint” George Groves (21-2, 16 KOs) and former three-time world champion and Mexican power-puncher Jhonny Gonzalez (58-9, 49 KOs) will be opposed by Puerto Rico’s Jonathan “Polvo” Oquendo (25-4, 16 KOs) in a 10-round 130-pound match.
By Matt Plumridge: George Groves (21-2) faces a genuine make or break contest on Saturday’s Mayweather- Berto undercard, fighting his third world title shot against the Money man’s own fighter in WBC belt wearer Badou Jack (19-1-1).
Groves, who was twice KO’d by Carl Froch in his previous attempts to capture the world crown, can specifically not afford to be knocked out by Jack as 3 KO’s in just over 20 fights will rank his chin as more suspect than I suspect, and you can see all future opponents looking to land the knock out with inevitably successful consequences.
By Scott Gilfoid: For some fighters it crushes their egos and self-confidence when they get knocked clean out and stopped in two straight fights. It has a way of grounding the fighter to bring them back to reality in terms of their talent level.
In the case of George Groves, he doesn’t appear to have lost any of his self-belief whatsoever since being smashed twice by Carl Froch. If anything, I would say Groves is even more confident than he was before he was knocked out in those two fights.
By Scott Gilfoid: With two days to go before the weigh-in for his fight against WBC super middleweight champion Badou Jack (19-1-1, 12 KOs) on Saturday night, #1 WBC George Groves (21-2, 16 KOs) is starting to look rather skeletal in appearance from the water weight that he’s losing so that he can try and make the 168 pound limit for the fight.
Groves is one of those fighters who has to lose a lot of weight to get down to the super middleweight limit, so it’s not surprising to see him looking really weight drained. But I hadn’t expected Groves to look this bad with still two days to go before the weigh-in.