By Ian S Palmer
There’s a huge domestic clash in England this Saturday, Feb. 17th as WBA Super World Super Middleweight Champion George Groves will be taking on IBO Champion Chris Eubank Jr. at the Manchester Arena. This is also a semifinal bout of the World Boxing Super Series. The 12-round fight can be seen on ITV pay per view in England and on Super Channel in Canada. Groves last fought in October when he stopped Jamie Cox in the fourth round. Groves won the vacant title with a sixth-round stoppage of Fedor Chudinov last May. Eubank last fought in October when he stopped Avni Yildirim in the third round. He won the IBO title in Feb., 2017 with a 10th round TKO over Renold Quinlon and will be making his third defence.
The 29-year-old Groves of London finally won a world title in his fourth attempt when he beat Chudinov. He climbs into the ring with a record of 27-3 with 20 Kos. All three of his losses have been against world champions as he was stopped by Carl Froch in 2013 and 2014 and then dropped a split decision to Badou Jack in September of 2015. Groves managed to drop Froch in the opening round of their first meeting and had him in big trouble, but let him off the hook.
The Londoner has pretty good power with a knockout ratio of 67 per cent, but Froch showed that Groves’ chin can let him down. The WBA champion stands just under 6-feet tall, has a 72-inch reach and has boxed 186 rounds since turning pro in 2008. He’s a former British and Commonwealth Champion who gained a lot of confidence in his performances against Froch even though he lost them both. However, he didn’t show enough energy or urgency against Badou Jack.
Groves was determined to win a world belt when he fought Chudinov and was relentless on the attack once he sensed he had his man in trouble. He has fine boxing skills to go along with his heavy fists and likes to use his jab, but Froch showed that he’s vulnerable to counter punches if he leaves himself open for too long. Groves has also beaten Paul Smith, James DeGale and Glen Johnson during his pro career. He’s perhaps a bit underrated on the world scene and while he’s not an elite boxer, he’s definitely a very good one.
The 28-year-old Eubank of Brighton will enter the ring with an impressive record of 26-1 with 20 Kos to his name with his best win so far being a unanimous decision over Arthur Abraham last July. The IBO champ has good power and boxing skills, but they weren’t enough to beat Billy Joe Saunders in November of 2014 when Eubank dropped a 12-round split decision to the current WBO World Middleweight Champion for his only career loss.
Eubank enters the contest with 157 rounds of experience since turning pro in 2011. He’s also beaten Nick Blackwell, Dmitrii Chudinov, Gary O’Sullivan and Bradley Price. Eubank stands 5-feet-11-inches tall with a 72.5-inch so is an inch shorter than Groves. He’s also displayed impressive power up to now with a current knockout ratio of 74 per cent. He’s been wobbled a couple of times in the ring, but also has a solid chin.
Eubank’s at his best when he overwhelms his opponent with his relentless punching and is hard to keep at bay because of it. He isn’t the hardest guy to hit if he gets goaded into a slugfest, but most boxers prefer not to go toe-to-toe with him. That being said, Saunders beat him by outboxing him in a close fight. There has been a lot of buildup and trash talking for this fight in the UK and it has the potential to be a barn burner.
Prediction…
This is another great matchup as Groves is solid and tough, but can he handle Eubank’s power? Groves has good power of his own and decent boxing skills too, but he might be second best to Eubank in both areas. Eubank possesses good hand speed, mobility and crisp combination punching and it may prove to be a bit too much for Groves. I’m expecting a great fight, but think Eubank will take it.
