Boxing in Britain is experiencing somewhat of a renaissance with David Haye, Carl Froch, Amir Khan and Ricky burns all putting the United Kingdom on the map. On May 21 an all-British showdown will take place between two of the country’s most promising talents when George Groves takes on James DeGale. What makes this match-up so interesting is that these two fighters are former stable mates, they know each other extremely well, and both are unbeaten. Throw in a rivalry and plenty of trash talking, and a rare meeting of two young prospects on the rise, and DeGale vs. Groves has all of the makings of a great fight.DeGale vs. Groves Preview & Analysis
DeGale is a southpaw who, like Floyd Mayweather, fights out of a defensive shell with his right shoulder protecting his chin while standing almost side on to his opponent. When he is being attacked he will roll with the punches, leaning from the waist, and snap back with a counter. In his young 10 fight professional career he has justified his Olympic Gold Medal, from 2008, and shown a maturity that suggests he would fare well against world class opposition.
Groves on the other hand fights very much like stable mate David Haye, and Roy Jones, waiting for his opponent to initiate an attack before using reflexes to slip and fire back with quick, hard shots that stun his opponent. In his previous outings, he has proved to be a very heavy hitter with a KO ratio of over 80%
DeGale vs. Groves Prediction
When these two fighters face each other on May 21 I expect DeGale’s style of fighting and superior boxing ability to overcome George Groves. They key to this fight is that DeGale is an excellent inside fighter, does well at rolling with punches, getting inside and getting his shots off. Groves, by contrast, is a puncher and needs space to operate. He needs to keep the fight in the center of the ring because he cannot fight backing up and doesn’t clinch after being hit, leaving himself very vulnerable.
What I expect to see is the sharper, more polished DeGale stalk Groves, closing the distance and outboxing him while being slicker in defending himself. This will probably cause Groves to try to force a shootout around the middle rounds, given the rivalry between the pair and the hype surrounding the fight, and I think his inferior defense will result in him being picked off. With the KO ratios of these two fighters, and the likelihood that each man will want to close the show, it is unlikely that this fight will go the distance.
James DeGale to win by KO.
