Thread: SKY Box Ofice - FROCH V GROVES 2 - Unfinished Business -Saturday Night Chat Thread

For our friends across the pond

The fight will be aired live in the U.S. on HBO at 4 p.m. ET/1 p.m ET. Tea time on the East Coast, or happy hour if you prefer.



IN THE UK (all times Greenwich Mean Time)

Carl Froch vs George Groves
Rematch, Super Middleweights, 12 Rounds, for Froch's IBF and WBA titles

Ring Walk Approx 9:45pm GMT


James DeGale vs Brandon Gonzales
Super Middleweights, 12 Rounds, IBF eliminator


Approx 9:00pm GMT




Kevin Mitchell vs Ghislain Maduma
Lightweights, 12 Rounds


Approx 8:00pm GMT




Jamie McDonnell vs Tabtimdaeng Na Rachawat
Bantamweights, 12 Rounds, for vacant WBA "regular" title


Approx 7:00pm GMT




Anthony Joshua vs Matt Legg
Heavyweights, 8 Rounds


Approx 6:30pm GMT

WEIGH INS




Carl Froch 11st 13lbs 9oz.

George Groves 11st 12lbs 4oz



James DeGale 11st 13lbs 7oz

Brandon Gonzales 11st 13lbs 9oz




Kevin Mitchell 9st 8lbs 9oz

Ghislain Maduma 9st 8lbs 12oz




Jamie McDonnell 8st 5lbs 10oz

Tabtimdaeng Na Rachawat 8st 5lb 1oz



Anthony Joshua 16st 12lbs

Matt Legg 16st 12lbs

Froch - Groves




DeGale - Gonzales



Mitchell - Maduma



McDonnell - Na Rachawat



Joshua - Legg

Kevin Mitchell has missed the check-in weight for his Froch-Groves 2 undercard bout against Ghislain Maduma.
The 29-year-old weighed in at 10st 6lbs 11oz, with IBF rules stating he cannot weigh more than 10 pounds over on the morning of the fight.
The IBF lightweight limit set at 9st 9lbs and it means Mitchell may not get his shot at IBF lightweight champion at Miguel Vázquez - the prize that awaits the winner of this eliminator.
Congo-born Maduma, 29 and fighting out of Montreal, Canada, made the weight without any difficulty as he goes in search of an 11th knockout in 17 fights (16-0).
Dagenham-born Mitchell (37-2, 17KO) is ranked fifth in the IBF lightweight rankings behind fourth-place Maduma.
The pair go toe-to-toe in front of a sold-out 80,000 people at Wembley in the third to last fight of the night.

Kevin Mitchell misses check-in weight for bout with Ghislain Maduma | Sky Sports

Gonna be a good night's fights tonight, although Joshua and McDonnell should crush the guys they have, but after those two it should get real competitive. Can't wait for this one.

Mitchell WTF!!!! When was the check weigh-in? 12lbs over. That's ridiculous. I'm so pissed off with him, I'm a big fan of his, I reckon he's got great talent and gets stuck right in.
What pisses me off is that in the week building up to the fight, he's telling everyone he's ready blah blah blah KNOWING FULL WELL he's walking round A STONE over the limit. That's just conning the fans. He must have known he had weight issues weeks ago, why does it not come out till now?
Btw I thought his opponent looked bigger and in great shape.

Originally Posted by Primo Carnera

Mitchell WTF!!!! When was the check weigh-in? 12lbs over. That's ridiculous. I'm so pissed off with him, I'm a big fan of his, I reckon he's got great talent and gets stuck right in.
What pisses me off is that in the week building up to the fight, he's telling everyone he's ready blah blah blah KNOWING FULL WELL he's walking round A STONE over the limit. That's just conning the fans. He must have known he had weight issues weeks ago, why does it not come out till now?
Btw I thought his opponent looked bigger and in great shape.

He weighed in under the limit. It's this morning he has failed the check-in weight. He has re hydrated by 12lbs rather than the 10 that is permissible. He might not have been having any weight issues in the build up.

Originally Posted by ryanman

Originally Posted by Primo Carnera

Mitchell WTF!!!! When was the check weigh-in? 12lbs over. That's ridiculous. I'm so pissed off with him, I'm a big fan of his, I reckon he's got great talent and gets stuck right in.
What pisses me off is that in the week building up to the fight, he's telling everyone he's ready blah blah blah KNOWING FULL WELL he's walking round A STONE over the limit. That's just conning the fans. He must have known he had weight issues weeks ago, why does it not come out till now?
Btw I thought his opponent looked bigger and in great shape.

He weighed in under the limit. It's this morning he has failed the check-in weight. He has re hydrated by 12lbs rather than the 10 that is permissible. He might not have been having any weight issues in the build up.

Ah, I see, thanks for clearing that up. I thought they were talking about a check weigh-in BEFORE the proper weigh-in. In that case, it's a bit unfair saying he might not get a title shot if he wins.
I know rules are there for a reason, but I'm not sure if you can have much control about how much your body re-hydrates by. And in the states, some guys like Maidana for example are about a stone and a half heavier by the time they get in the ring.
Let's hope it takes nothing away from the fight, because I reckon this was going to be the best fight on the undercard.

Quality breakdown and analysis form these two veterans of the hardest game

Predictions from Boxers

Amir Khan

(Former world light-welterweight champion)
Groves knows he can hurt Froch; Froch knows he can hurt Groves. Froch won’t be so macho this time; he knows he can get knocked down.
Verdict: FROCH

James DeGale

(Lost to Groves in 2011)
I keep changing my mind. Groves boxed well last time but Froch is the champion; he has a lot of heart and a good chin.
Verdict: GROVES

Tyson Fury

(Undefeated heavyweight)
I don’t think Groves is world class but Froch will have to stop him because he won’t get a points decision.
Verdict: FROCH

Lennox Lewis

(Former undisputed world heavyweight champion)
I think Froch will start quicker this time but he has to watch out for the big right hand from Groves.
Verdict: FROCH

Anthony Joshua

(Olympic super-heavyweight champion)
Froch is experienced; Groves is skilful. Groves is likely to start sharp as he did last time, but I think Froch is going to break him down.
Verdict: FROCH

Johnny Nelson

(Former world cruiserweight champion)
I don’t see this going the distance — they are too explosive. It’ll take a lot of concentration and control from Groves not to go for glory; the red mist can come down with him.
Verdict: FROCH

Matthew Macklin

(British middleweight)
As the fight goes on and the sharpness leaves Groves, Froch’s strength and stamina will become a factor. I’m leaning towards Froch by late stoppage or close points win.
Verdict: FROCH

Scott Quigg

(World super bantamweight champion)
Froch will start quicker this time, he can’t be as cagey and he’s got to have a tighter defence. I think he’ll be behind after six but will catch up in the later rounds.
Verdict: FROCH

Tony Bellew

(British cruiserweight)
Froch will be more wary this time. I can see Groves winning the first few rounds as he did in the first fight. But I expect a more conclusive stoppage for Froch, between rounds 8 and 12.
Verdict: FROCH

Thomas Stalker

(Former Team GB captain)
My old GB team-mate Anthony Fowler has been sparring with Froch, and he says he is looking pretty good. I can see a Froch KO or Groves winning on points. If I had to bet I’d go for Froch.
Verdict: FROCH

Predictions from others



Jamie Carragher

I hope it lives up to the pre-fight talk. I like Groves’ style and he was unlucky not to win the first bout, but he might have missed his chance. I can’t see Froch making the same mistakes twice.
Verdict: FROCH
Andy Murray

I think it’s pretty much a 50/50 fight. Whoever performs best on the night will win; if I was betting I would bet on Froch to win.
Verdict: FROCH

Jamie Redknapp

Froch can’t box any worse than he did in the first few rounds last time. I change my mind every minute. They will come out slugging which is why I think it will be Froch in the early rounds.
Verdict: FROCH
Jack Wilshere

Groves shut a lot of people up last time. People thought he was just a mouthy little Londoner, but he walked the walk.
Verdict: GROVES

Read more: Froch v Groves II: Experts make their prediction on the fight of the year | Mail Online
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook