George Groves will face Noe Gonzalez Alcoba on May 25 at the O2 Arena, as part of the Carl Froch vs. Mikkel Kessler bill live on Sky Sports Box Office in ‘Warrior’s Call’ in association with Betfair.
Super middleweight star Groves is hunting a World title fight later in the year and will keep preparations going with a 12 round clash against the hard-hitting Uruguayan who has 22 KO wins from 32 fights and is hunting a second World title fight of his own having challenged Felix Sturm and Adonis Stevenson for major belts.
Groves boxed twice in March with a spot on the undercard of Robert Stieglitz four round blitz of Arthur Abraham in Germany, at the Londoner is targeting a crack at the WBO champ this autumn.
“He’s been in with good company and he’s got a big KO record so it will be an explosive fight,” said Groves. “He’s a bit of a banger so I’ll have to be on my toes. But I feel that I’m right on track for a World title shot now and there’s no margin for error.
“I don’t think there’s any mileage in an immediate rematch between Abraham-Stieglitz, maybe down the line but I think they’re sick of the sight of each other I imagine, so hopefully it’s time for someone like me to get a crack at the belt. A stoppage loss for Abraham takes a lot of getting over at this stage of his career and his eye was a mess too, so I don’t think he’ll be the man to fight Robert, I think I am though and that’s a fight I really want.
“A World title fight in London in September would be a dream come true and it’s not unrealistic to think it will happen. I’d love for Eddie Hearn to get a World champion over to London and we do a big show in the capital, but I’ve shown I am happy to box overseas and I would happily do so again for a World title.”
“This is a pivotal moment in George’s career,” said Groves’ promoter Hearn. “Gonzalez comes with heavy artillery and is also looking for another shot at the World title. Groves is ready for this test and victory will see us pushing for a World title shot in September.”
