George Groves
I wonder how many articles have been written about ‘Saint’ George Groves (11-0, 9 KOs) in the past year that haven’t featured the name James DeGale (9-0, 7 KOs)? One hand territory, I would wager, and for good reason.
Both fighters grew up a stone’s throw from each other in London and boxed out of the same amateur club, Dale Youth ABC. An intense rivalry developed, fuelled in no small part by Grove’s sense of injustice at DeGale’s favored-son status amongst Britain’s amateur boxing hierarchy. DeGale, at two years older, was the established choice and represented Britain at international tournaments and the Olympics. Meanwhile, Groves – who won 66 of his 76 fights and two ABA titles – actually beat him in their only encounter, but these stellar accomplishments were never enough to dislodge his rival from the forefront of the selectors’ minds. It could not have been easy for him sitting at home watching on TV as DeGale claimed Gold in Beijing.
Groves, 22, put it behind him and began his professional career like he was supposed to, looking leagues above the motley crew of journeymen and novices served up for him. The boxing world really began to buzz when he produced a masterclass of counter-punching and smart footwork to claim the commonwealth title by stopping Charles Adamu (17-5, 12 KOs) in the 6th – a man who had previously gone the distance with Carl Froch. Finally, it seemed Groves had stepped out of the shadow of his local rival and looked a top prospect in his own right.
But then came his last two bouts.
Fighting on the Juan Manuel Marquez – Juan Diaz undercard in the Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas, he came up against Alfredo Contreras (11-9-1, 5 KOs), a boxer who had been suicidally matched for a novice (previous opponents included David Lemieux, Craig McEwan and Rigoberto Alvarez) and was actually a bit better than his record suggested. Contreras, while mostly outclassed, managed to expose worrying deficiencies in Groves’ defense – tagging him far too often – before falling to a TKO stoppage in the 6th.
This could have been put down to a bad day at the office had it not been followed by a fight against unbeaten brawler Kenny Anderson (12-1, 8 KOs). Groves was unable to hold off the Scot with his jab and was punished time-and-again on the ropes for his non-existent defense. In the 3rd he was floored with a left hook and was lucky to be saved by the bell moments later.
In fairness, he displayed heart and grit to turn the fight around and stop Anderson in the 6th but his woeful defense in the a face of a half-decent pressure fighter will not be forgotten in a hurry and Groves would do well to get some more fights under his belt before facing the fast hands of arch-nemesis DeGale.
George Groves Quote:
“I want to fight James Degale. He’s destined for failure. He talks a good game but once he gets in there with someone real and someone live like me then he will be on the floor. It will be like Bernard Hopkins and Kelly Pavlik. Is this the superstar everyone has built up? I know how to take him apart mentally and physically. That’s what will happen.”
Tip for 2011
Despite the question marks raised in his last two fights, George Groves is a bright prospect and will be challenging for top honors in the future. Manager Adam Booth should put the kibosh on any immediate plans to face DeGale. Instead Groves will likely defend his commonwealth title and race DeGale to the European belt.
