Carl Froch vs George Groves

its all show business, nothing else really.

Myself and my brother where discussing this earlier as he's a huge Froch fan and i quite like Groves.

I think what Groves is trying to do is gain maybe an extra percent of an advantage over Froch. Just 1 or 2 percent, nothing huge or dramatic. If he can make Froch lose his cool for just a few moments in the fight, then that, i reckon Groves thinks, will win him the fight.

I think people often underestimate the parity in fighters. When world champions and other top level fighters collide, the difference between winning and losing is very minor. As i said earlier, its the matter of small percentages. So anything Groves can do to hopefully give him a slight edge, mentally, then he's going to take it, and quite frankly, he'd be stupid not to.

I like Froch, he's a mans man, and a fighters fighter. He doesnt hide in the ring, and certainly doesnt dodge any opponents. But i do have this sneaking feeling that he's going to do a Nigel Benn vs Eubank thing here, and just get caught up in the moment. With the pure intent of knocking Groves out he could find himself chasing Groves around and then finally finding himself in the 11th round, but behind by 3. It can easily happen. Froch will have to be mentally strong to not get caught up in the emotion of the fight.

There's also the sparring story. I think we all knew that Froch dropped Groves a few years, granted Groves was only in his teens at the time, but there's no denying the fact it happened. That i would expect to give Froch a massive confidence boost heading into this showdown. But Groves said something last night that only 2 days after getting dropped he "wrecked" Carl. When Froch heard this the first line out of his head was, "well, Sparring doesnt mean anything". So did Groves beat Froch up after getting dropped? I dont know, but its got me thinking.

There's also this thing in my mind. Whenever you spar with someone you're better than, you never feel intimated by them, but when you get smoked by someone, you naturally think twice about getting in the ring with them again, yet Groves, who Froch has dropped, is chomping at the bit to get in with Carl again.

So either Groves is the most mentally strong boxer on the planet, or he actually did do ok in the sparring sessions he's had with Froch.

Either wa y. Its going to be a very interesting fight, and i for one cannot wait

chrisbonnie wrote: »

I like Froch, he's a mans man, and a fighters fighter. He doesnt hide in the ring, and certainly doesnt dodge any opponents. D

He can't hide, he hasn't got the foot speed:)

I think folks get too caught up in giving Froch too much credit for obvious and natural "stuff."

The super 6 was a tournament that several men signed up to fight in, there was not going to be dodging in that one. Apart from the super 6 Carl has fought decent men, but nothing exceptional, and none that would be worth dodging!

wadacrack wrote: »

The only exceptional fighter Froch has fought was Andre Ward. If Groves chin holds up I expect him to be competitive

you dont rate Kessler?

granted i think he's past his prime, but i think Kessler was excellent. In their first fight he was brilliant, and it wasnt near as close as Froch would have you believe.

Ward absolutely mullered him, but there's no shame in that. Ward is head and shoulders above everybody else in that division (even though the Ring rankings have him at #5 :eek:)

walshb wrote: »

I disagree. He beat him, but reading this it sounds like PBF-Gatti fight!

Are you talking about Ward mullering Kessler or Ward mullering Froch?

Ring have him as champion, and at 2 on p4p list!

Ward mullering Froch, i didnt give Froch a single round, and neither did my Froch obsessed brother.

Ring have him at #1? oh wait, it was Boxrec, thats right, Boxrec. my bad

The interest in this fight demonstrates the influence of sky sports marketing. I'm not sure why anyone would be majorly interested in this fight. Froch is the most overrated fighter in boxing today.

If I ever see Froch on a P4P list then I know the person rating him is clueless about boxing.

Groves is an absolute c*ck for carrying on like that in the interview and I hope Froch smashes him to pieces for it.

Have always liked watching Froch (met him once and hes a smashing fella). He isn't the most naturally talented boxer out there but he always gives 100% and never leaves anything behind, reminds me of Collins in this regard a little bit, overachieving with pure effort and balls of steel.

walshb wrote: »

Fair enough, but several reds were very competitive. It wasn't a dominating victory. Clear, but not as you suggested.

The 118-110 card was the fairest card. 115-113 was an insult, Ward was in complete control for the whole fight. Also he injured his hand early on, Ward is on a different planet to Froch.

The only way I can see Groves beat Froch is adopt a game plan similar to Dirrell/Taylor & his gameplan against DeGale. Hit & move let Froch come looking for him & try make him miss/look clumsy in front of the judges.

However, it's a risky plan to try pull of for 12 rounds boxing on the back foot & getting 2 judges to give you the decision against The Champ.

I am going to have a little bet on Groves by decision at 11/2.

fsfg wrote: »

It's my opinion that Groves split with Booth as he stopped listening to him. Groves has an ego (which was built by Booth) and I think he forced the fight rather than his team had any confidence in him winning.

Groves thinks he will win, I have no doubt about that and he thinks he is a master of mind games. I think it's working to a degree- Froch looks angry to me.

Froch underestimes Groves and he needs to be careful as I think Groves has the greater power. His downfall though is that Froch won't quit or lose his spirt and his chin is rock solid. Groves needs to avoid Froch for the whole fight and while I think is is very underrated by all, logic would suggest he won't keep froch off him (unless he hurts him) maybe Groves has a better chin than I gave him credit for but I doubt it.

Froch by late Ko with Groves ahead on points at the time.

That's a pretty good summation of the whole situation.

I already mentioned that I think Groves will give him problems, and while from a betting perspective the late stoppage for Froch is probably the best bet, a small wager on Groves on pts is certainly a good value bet IMO.

Brad Goodman wrote: »

Groves looks a nice boxer with decent pop but he has had 19 fights and a quick look at names and only James DeGale, Paul Smith and Glen Johnson's names stand out. DeGale and Smith are only European level (DeGale could push on but I'm doubtful) and Johnson, while it was a good win, is completely washed up now. Therefore, unless Froch has faded badly in the past few months, which is doubtful since he's looked great in his last 2 fights, I think he jumps all over Groves early and smashes him inside of of 5 rounds. I remember Kenny Anderson had Groves all over the shop on a numerous occasions in their fight. Kenny Anderson! I just can't see Groves' chin holding up for long.

Froch just about beat Johnson back in 2011

The undercard seems to be kicking off at 6:30pm but no mention of what time the main event is scheduled for. Anybody know, even a ball park figure would do? Cheers.

Don't you just love when there is a needle between 2 boxers in a title fight. It definitely adds an extra dimension to the whole theatrics and there is serious bad blood between these two. I actually think that Groves has managed to really get under the skin of Froch so much so that it might actually change how he would normally approach this fight.