The main thing Froch has to change is his attitude. We know his footwork is terrible and his style of boxing is ugly. We didn’t have to see the first Groves fight to find that out. He disregarded Groves on every level – personally, professionally and in ability – and didn’t think he [Groves] belonged in a ring with him—Johnny Nelson
George Groves (13-0) is a 23 year old Brit who fights like a veteran with both style and the ability to close. Ted Sares. August 12, 2011 (ESB)
Ricky Hatton fought Juan “The Hispanic Causing Panic” Lazcano in Manchester, England before a record (at the time) 55,000 fans on May 24, 2008. The “Hit Man” was coming off his first defeat, a KO at the hands of Floyd Mayweather Jr. And while Lazcano almost caused panic among Ricky’s faithful, this was no Brit dust- up in the tradition of Errol Christie vs. Mark Kaylor, Jamie Moore vs. Mathew Macklin, Michael Watson vs. Chris Eubank (Britain’s Hagler-Hearns), Frank Bruno vs., Lennox Lewis to name just a few. Heck, Lazcano was not even a Brit. Fact is, Hatton’s UD win over Eamonn Magee in 2002 probably comes the closest to being a true Brit dust-up for him.
Now comes Carl “The Cobra” Froch vs. George “Saint George” Groves 2 at Wembley Stadium and the excitement is palpable with even the handshake a tense and newsworthy affair.
Froch (32-2) stopped Groves (19-1) in the ninth round of their first meeting in November after the challenger had floored the champion in the opening round. But because of a highly contentious stoppage by referee Howard Foster Jr., Groves left the ring to cheers; Froch did not. Says the young, bold, and sometimes even brash Londoner with the boyish looks, “I remember telling my mum before the first fight – she was concerned I wasn’t going to be liked – I said, don’t worry about it; in the end they’re going to cheer me out. She believed me.” This was a classic battle of two Brits; one from Nottingham, the other from London.
The winner of the rematch, appropriately called “Unfinished Business,” will become the world middleweight champion in front of an astounding 80,000 people at Wembley Stadium as well as millions watching from around the world.
Some non-contextual Dialogue
Says Groves, “I think Carl will make too many fundamental mistakes and he’ll explode, then implode and he’ll get hit with shots early and he won’t get up. Paddy [Fitzpatrick] is saying ’five’. I am saying ’three’.”
Says Froch, “I’m going to be setting a ferocious pace. This is why I want him to come out and be a man of his word and say he’s going to try and do me in three rounds, perfect. This is what I want, so do that George. If you’re coming out for three rounds, come and bring it to me. I’m going to take centre of the ring and I’ll meet you there, but I don’t think he’ll do that. We’ll see what happens.”
Says Groves, “Froch is a caveman; he’s just not good enough.”
Says Froch, “He [Groves] believes his own nonsense. He cannot stay with me for 12 rounds. He’s not tough enough.”
Says Groves, “”This time he has time to adjust to knowing that I might tell him what I’m going to do. So next time we come face to face, he might think, ‘Well, is he going to do it this time or is he not? Does it matter? Is he going to do it anyway?’ And I probably will reveal a little more in the build-up, just to torture him.”
Says Froch, “The angry, aggressive, spiteful, bitter, war-hardened, tough, strong, mentally determined dangerous fighter, brutal warrior – that’s what I am. You’ll see that guy turn up on 31 May I promise you that because I am ready.”
Says groves, “…You tell a man what you’re going to do to him two nights before you get in the ring with him, so he’s got two days to stew about it then probably totally forget about it. But at the end of the first round he sits down and thinks, ‘He was right.’ Then he thinks, ‘What else has he told me that I haven’t paid attention to?’
Says Froch, It may have been stopped early, but had it gone on the result would’ve been the same. …I’m in a much better place. There’s nothing he can say that is going to wind me up. It’s impossible.
Says Groves, “He’ll say he’s a ’championship fighter’ he’s done 12 rounds several times before I think he’ll come out do his best for six rounds, hang on, do his best, get a bit of confidence, and think I’ll blow up.”
Prediction:
The first time I saw George Groves in the ring was in 2010 when he stopped Charles “The Crusader” Adamu (17-4) in the sixth round to win the Commonwealth (British Empire) super middleweight title and I was extremely impressed. Groves was just 8-0 at the time and the beating he gave Charles essentially ended the Ghanaian’s career. Adamu had gone the distance with WBC super middleweight champion Froch., but Groves used heavy hands and fine technique to settle the Crusader’s hash.
Later and once the Froch-Kessler-Bute-Pascal thing got sorted out and once George got more experience, Froch vs.-Groves Number One fell into place, notwithstanding Arthur Abraham’s resurgence..
Carl lacks fine technique and fights ugly (some say in a non-cerebral manner), but he is tough as nails and is very good at winning. Indeed, he is in a fight until the last second of the last round as Jermain Taylor found out at the 2.46 mark of the twelfth round in their 2009 thriller.
This time around, I see Froch winning inside the distance. Last time he was surprised; this time he knows what to expect and while George is a heavy load, Froch has more to lose going forward. Unless Father Time has caught up with him, Froch will be more physically and mentally prepared for this fight.
More specifically, I think The Saint’s best chance is to come out fast and make it a fire fight ala Hearns-Hagler or Benn-Barkley. We now know that Groves starts fast. But Froch does not. Thus, if the Cobra can withstand an early attack and then take George into the late rounds, his superior experience in title fights and his solid stamina should prove the difference as he closes the show around the tenth or eleventh round even though Groves seems to be expecting that strategy.
But as they say, don’t go to the reefer.
