Carl Froch v George Groves II (31st May 2014)
It’s the re-match everyone wanted, Carl Froch v George Groves II….but is it a match to far for the champion?
Last time, Froch found a way to win against Groves but the Nottingham fighter might find it tougher this time.
Carl Froch’s view when asked about what it feels like when you are preparing to go into the ring, said: “You have to be a bit afraid because you are putting your life on the line“.
He meant it literally. Footballers talk about putting their bodies at risk when they dive in to block shots, but that’s nothing compared to getting hit full force by a professional middleweight boxer.
Froch is as tough as they come. He’s a man’s man, a down to earth person who has taken the tough way to the top of his sport. He’s never ducked a fight, in fact he’s mostly gone out seeking the toughest opponents on his way to holding a world title belt. He started the Super Six series as the underdog who was making up the numbers and ended it a fraction away from being the champion.
You can’t help but admire him. But go back to the start of this piece, it’s the toughest game. And eventually while the fights might not kill you, they stop making you stronger – the cumulative effect of taking too many punches slows you down.
Froch is 36 now, and you fear he might be reaching that point faced by every great fighter when all the battles catch up. That’s why, we’d love the Nottingham Cobra to rattle out one more victory in his Wembley Stadium rematch with George Groves, It could be the one fight too many where the up and coming young guy gets to beat him.
Groves knocked Froch down in the first round when they met in Manchester, and was clearly leading on points before he was stopped, controversially, in the ninth when the champion came out swinging. Froch’s will to win has made him favourite to be the winner of the May 31 rematch. The reality is that the younger man will have gained experience from the first night and can come in stronger.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zTArECAlRr8
Groves himself has shed interesting light on it in an interview in the Guardian, claiming that far from coming on strong in the ninth round, Froch’s assault was the desperate last fling of a man who knew he was losing.
“I could feel him getting weaker,” he claims. “That was his last-ditch attempt. Once I’d ridden that tiny storm and got back to my boxing, and started punching back, his heart would have been broken.”
Of course nobody will ever know what would have happened if the ref hadn’t stepped in. What we do know is that Groves is 25, a fighter on an upward curve. He’s an intelligent young man who will have learned lessons and can prepare far better for this fight than the last, when he’d not long split up with his previous training team.
Betting…..
The early market has Groves at 2.6 to win and between 5.0 and 6.8 for him to do it inside the distance. We’re huge fans of Froch, as a fighter and a person. But I fear this might be the night which is one contest too many.
[table “13” not found /]What’s YOUR view…POST YOUR comments…….
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