What are Groves' chances in Germany?

[erics44]

Haye won in germany against valuev in a fight that could have gone either way, perhaps haye got the nod coz the potential of earnings was better with haye as champ

I understand the situation with a abraham fight but i think groves has some financial backing too

i hope he wins, I am a fan

[armyash]

A loss wont harm him unless he gets destroyed early. Winning this fight would not be the biggest upset, I believe he has a chance but as I said in another thread, if he wins where does he go? He may fight unknowns for a year or 2 then put in with the likes of Bute, Ward, Kessler etc. Too soon to be going for this title it's crazy.

I don't understand it, he's a good ticket seller and is probably making good money defending his British and Commonwealth belts while selling out arenas. It's a way of swerving the euro belt and avoiding Degale but at what cost?

[Galaxy]

A loss wont harm him unless he gets destroyed early. Winning this fight would not be the biggest upset, I believe he has a chance but as I said in another thread, if he wins where does he go? He may fight unknowns for a year or 2 then put in with the likes of Bute, Ward, Kessler etc. Too soon to be going for this title it's crazy.

I don't understand it, he's a good ticket seller and is probably making good money defending his British and Commonwealth belts while selling out arenas. It's a way of swerving the euro belt and avoiding Degale but at what cost?

Agreed, but he maybe able to squeeze in an easy defense or two before having to face those guys. But he may have to face Abraham sooner rather than later...

[Tam Seddon]

A loss wont harm him unless he gets destroyed early. Winning this fight would not be the biggest upset, I believe he has a chance but as I said in another thread, if he wins where does he go? He may fight unknowns for a year or 2 then put in with the likes of Bute, Ward, Kessler etc. Too soon to be going for this title it's crazy.

I don't understand it, he's a good ticket seller and is probably making good money defending his British and Commonwealth belts while selling out arenas. It's a way of swerving the euro belt and avoiding Degale but at what cost?

I personally don't see how this is a way of swerving Degale though, this is Groves advancing his career. I believe he should take this risk and if it pays off it shows how far ahead of Degale he is.

Degale needs to win some more fights and earn another shot at Groves. Imagine in a year or twos time if Groves has the title and Degale improves and gets a better record a world title rematch with Groves will be appealing.

I don't believe Groves and Booth would have accepted this fight if they didn't believe they could win it. Groves is a live challenger and needs to move on with his career. Why wait defending against British or European challengers, when you have a world title shot?

I believe he has done the right thing here and I hope he puts on a big performance and wins the title. It would be really good to see IMO. I think Groves should do a defence or two in the UK and with the experience he gains I think he could give Abraham a good fight. Not been too impressed with Abraham during the super 6 and he's not the biggest fighter at 168, I think down the line Groves would have a great chance of beating him.

[armyash]

A loss wont harm him unless he gets destroyed early. Winning this fight would not be the biggest upset, I believe he has a chance but as I said in another thread, if he wins where does he go? He may fight unknowns for a year or 2 then put in with the likes of Bute, Ward, Kessler etc. Too soon to be going for this title it's crazy.

I don't understand it, he's a good ticket seller and is probably making good money defending his British and Commonwealth belts while selling out arenas. It's a way of swerving the euro belt and avoiding Degale but at what cost?

I personally don't see how this is a way of swerving Degale though, this is Groves advancing his career. I believe he should take this risk and if it pays off it shows how far ahead of Degale he is.

Degale needs to win some more fights and earn another shot at Groves. Imagine in a year or twos time if Groves has the title and Degale improves and gets a better record a world title rematch with Groves will be appealing.

I don't believe Groves and Booth would have accepted this fight if they didn't believe they could win it. Groves is a live challenger and needs to move on with his career. Why wait defending against British or European challengers, when you have a world title shot?

I believe he has done the right thing here and I hope he puts on a big performance and wins the title. It would be really good to see IMO. I think Groves should do a defence or two in the UK and with the experience he gains I think he could give Abraham a good fight. Not been too impressed with Abraham during the super 6 and he's not the biggest fighter at 168, I think down the line Groves would have a great chance of beating him.

I didn't mean avoid Degale as in he's too risky, I meant bypassing the euro belt and not giving Degale the opportunity for a rematch. Which is understandable but could be missing out on experience at European level but yes a rematch for the WBO title down the line would be great.

I agree, Booth and Groves would not have took this fight if they didn't believe they could win it, winning this fight is very likely, I think Groves has more than a good chance. My point was having a world title would be a great achievement but it could be a dangerous one. Being a world champ means you can't take 'learning' fights. Hopefully he will win and as galaxy said in his post he will get to make a few easy defences before having to step amongst the elite.

Good reply you make some good points.

[Rantcatrat]

A loss wont harm him unless he gets destroyed early. Winning this fight would not be the biggest upset, I believe he has a chance but as I said in another thread, if he wins where does he go? He may fight unknowns for a year or 2 then put in with the likes of Bute, Ward, Kessler etc. Too soon to be going for this title it's crazy.

I don't understand it, he's a good ticket seller and is probably making good money defending his British and Commonwealth belts while selling out arenas. It's a way of swerving the euro belt and avoiding Degale but at what cost?

I personally don't see how this is a way of swerving Degale though, this is Groves advancing his career. I believe he should take this risk and if it pays off it shows how far ahead of Degale he is.

Degale needs to win some more fights and earn another shot at Groves. Imagine in a year or twos time if Groves has the title and Degale improves and gets a better record a world title rematch with Groves will be appealing.

I don't believe Groves and Booth would have accepted this fight if they didn't believe they could win it. Groves is a live challenger and needs to move on with his career. Why wait defending against British or European challengers, when you have a world title shot?

I believe he has done the right thing here and I hope he puts on a big performance and wins the title. It would be really good to see IMO. I think Groves should do a defence or two in the UK and with the experience he gains I think he could give Abraham a good fight. Not been too impressed with Abraham during the super 6 and he's not the biggest fighter at 168, I think down the line Groves would have a great chance of beating him.

Tam,

Solid post. Groves has potential. He's young and 14-0. If he gets by Stieglitz, why not defend the title against mandatories while he gains some experience? It's not a bad plan in my opinion. Before you know it, he's 20-0 with world experience having honed his craft. Stieglitz is a big test. It's the same Stieglitz that Kessler was considering fighting. Actually, when you think of it that way, you have to give Groves props for stepping up. Fighting a world-level guy at 14-0 is commendable.

It made a big impression on me when I saw Andre Dirrell's black eye on twitter from sparring with Groves. Dirrell then stated that Groves was very good.

[Fenster]

You boys do realise Grove's is promoted by Warren, right? The DeGale rematch can be made at any time they want. If Grove's gets the "world" title, not only can they sell shit defenses but also set-up a much bigger rematch. Warren has the title whoever wins.

[Kirkland Laing]

Warren must be slipping. He signed DeGale, saw him lose to groves and then signed Groves. Now both guys are fighting away from home in fights they can easily both be robbed in. (Fenster, they'll both need a knockout to get a draw. ) Warren losing the purse bids for the DeGale fight I can understand, but letting Groves take the fight in Germany as well? Weird. If both of them lose the rematch isn't very sellable. Maybe the Box Nation subscriber base is just guys who want to see Brits fighting and the rematch doesn't suffer if they lose to foreigners. Definitely not Warren's normal MO.

[Master]

It is a calculated risk which groves and Booth have taken. The intention is to win the title and Groves is good enough to win it, even Germany. Remember Murray got a draw there against Strum, so German guilt complex may mean Groves could win a close fight.

If Groves loses he can say he was robbed, inexperienced and was a good learning curve for him.

If Groves wins he will defend the title against lower tier fighters which may include Anderson and De Gale before he moves up to the bigger boys. Either way his career has been shortened as he is moving a lot faster than he should be for his own good.

[0james0]

I think if an opportunity presents itself, then why not take it? A fIghter should want to test themselves against the best and for all of Groves lack of experience, he's had a real fast tracked career.

He's boxed at the Olympics as well as had a glittering amatuer career. Sparred with the best in the world many times, in the build up to the De Gale fight I think Dirrell was just one of many top named fighters.

Plus for all his failings, David Haye is a boxing fanatic and hanging out with him and Booth has got him used to the big occasions with good advice in his ear.

I think Groves outboxes the German to a narrow points win. Split decision of course (it's Germany afterall)

[Ant Live]

Groves has pulled out due to injury. Hopefully, Abraham or Ward can step in and get this fight.

What's going on with Ward?

[Dropanuke]

What would happen if Stieglitz got in the ring with froch?

[Carl9234]

I read on sky sports website yesterday that degale had turned down the chance to step in for groves, just wondered if anyone had heard anything similar and if it's true what people make of his decision?

[Tam Seddon]

A loss wont harm him unless he gets destroyed early. Winning this fight would not be the biggest upset, I believe he has a chance but as I said in another thread, if he wins where does he go? He may fight unknowns for a year or 2 then put in with the likes of Bute, Ward, Kessler etc. Too soon to be going for this title it's crazy.

I don't understand it, he's a good ticket seller and is probably making good money defending his British and Commonwealth belts while selling out arenas. It's a way of swerving the euro belt and avoiding Degale but at what cost?

I personally don't see how this is a way of swerving Degale though, this is Groves advancing his career. I believe he should take this risk and if it pays off it shows how far ahead of Degale he is.

Degale needs to win some more fights and earn another shot at Groves. Imagine in a year or twos time if Groves has the title and Degale improves and gets a better record a world title rematch with Groves will be appealing.

I don't believe Groves and Booth would have accepted this fight if they didn't believe they could win it. Groves is a live challenger and needs to move on with his career. Why wait defending against British or European challengers, when you have a world title shot?

I believe he has done the right thing here and I hope he puts on a big performance and wins the title. It would be really good to see IMO. I think Groves should do a defence or two in the UK and with the experience he gains I think he could give Abraham a good fight. Not been too impressed with Abraham during the super 6 and he's not the biggest fighter at 168, I think down the line Groves would have a great chance of beating him.

Tam,

Solid post. Groves has potential. He's young and 14-0. If he gets by Stieglitz, why not defend the title against mandatories while he gains some experience? It's not a bad plan in my opinion. Before you know it, he's 20-0 with world experience having honed his craft. Stieglitz is a big test. It's the same Stieglitz that Kessler was considering fighting. Actually, when you think of it that way, you have to give Groves props for stepping up. Fighting a world-level guy at 14-0 is commendable.

It made a big impression on me when I saw Andre Dirrell's black eye on twitter from sparring with Groves. Dirrell then stated that Groves was very good.

I think Groves really does have a chance to make an impression to the 168 weight class. He is 24, and I personally feel that making risks will pay off. He was a good amatuer and is showing that he has class and beating Stieglitz will push him into the division.

We all know the 168 weight class is full of depth, but if Groves can gain some experience and build his name I personally think Groves can be a contender to the likes of; Froch, Kessler, Ward, Cleverley ( would be a big uk fight) and Dirrell.

Lets see how he gets on though because it really could go one way or the other for him, and I hope for Groves' sake he puts on a show.