Groves must stop De Gale from coming foward..........

I think Groves can definitly put the punch's together to hurt degale. Its going to be interesting to see the outcome think Groves has the war of words won, Degale will look back at that ringside and cringe especially when he forgot what he was talking about.

 

*Copied from another of my posts*

Their respective styles make this fight interesting. Groves goes out to hurt his opponents, particularly with his body work. Degale likes to take his time, pot-shot early then throw sharp two-three punch combinations as his opponent slows down.

Degale does best when he comes forward, but becomes defensive and poses too much when he’s on the back foot. As Gooners said in his excellent analysis, he’s not hard to find when he’s in reverse. Paul Smith was able to time him with the right hand over the top and get to the body.

Groves is similar, doing best when he goes forward. He’s got decent movement but is too willing to back up the ropes. Once there he doesn’t cover up properly, but seems to move into shots. Kenny Anderson was able to cause him trouble simply by advancing on him and working hard.

But Degale isn’t Anderson. He’s not a pressure fighter and doesn’t have the power to put a serious hurting on Groves with one or two shots. He’ll need to wear George down if he wants a stoppage. Plus his slapping punches won’t do the damage that Anderson’s better technique did, certainly not early. He has to hope the approach he took to Smith will work for Groves.

But Groves isn’t Smith. He’s a better fighter and is at his natural weight. He can punch and he commits to the body rather than just following his man around. He can be ponderous if he’s on the backfoot, so he’ll need to commit to coming forwards, even if he’s losing the early rounds, to make sure he lands his overhand right and left hook to the body (the two best shots to use against a southpaw).

I see this being a close fight for four or five rounds, even if Groves is behind on the cards. Then either Groves bodywork will break Degale down for a slow, prolonged beating when Mcdonnell pulls the wanker out, or Degale will start to bust Groves up en-route to a 10th round stoppage.

Of course, there’s a third option where Degale gets hurt early and plays safe, stinking out the joint to win or lose on a horrid split decision we’ll debate for years to come.

 

So what can groves do differently to Smith then for this fight? Smith certainly tried to pressure Degale and for the first half of the fight came roaring out whenever he could but was countered coming in until it took a bit out of him and he got wary and then Degale eventually turned it on against him as he go tmore tired.

I have to say i see the same things happening again its going to be really tiring in their because Groves is going to have to use a lot of energy to get at degale whilst degale by and large work in bursts when he sees opening.

 

I see it starting out with both guys looking to gain centre of ring. Groves will start out with his stance low hands and wide stance feinting away trying to offset DeGale and set up attacks. DeGale will circle looking to draw Groves lead and counter him on way in.

Groves natural agression may be his downfall in this fight and i can see both men fire fighting in wild exchanges early. I see Groves looking to lead off first and may have some early success but around 2-3 rounds in i can see him getting dropped. Looking to unload DeGale fires a counter through seam of the looping punches of Groves and with his chin in air Groves gets dropped.

DeGale will smell blood and look to finish job but remains cautious of Groves and lets him off hook for now. As the fight wears on i see DeGale starting to enjoy the bout and fancying the stoppage. Groves starting to wilt because of lack of success and now getting pushed onto backfoot. The lack of adaptability from Groves proves his downfall and i see him getting stopped on feet around round 8-9 with ref stepping in and waving it off. Groves for me looks the type that goes to pieces very quickly under a strong attack from opponent.

That's just an early feel for this bout. Have to sit down and go through it properly but i don't see Groves winning the fight.

Groves for me doesn't have the reflexes or the concussive power to get away with such a fake paper mache style. I think he's creating his own downfall and he still gets hit even in last bout. I don't see over a month and bit camp being enough to develop Groves weaknesses into strength's.

 

Sounds Cotto-Pac esque

 

Yeah less brutal though .

Just think Groves weaknesses are to big to cover up in a bout really do. He's not proven much to me other then having a good heart and decent dig. Not shown me any real skills..or improvement.

 

Smith is ponderous on the attack and the defence. He doesn’t work consistently in close, even though he rarely had trouble getting there for the first six rounds. Groves will work, even if he’s getting tagged. I don’t think Degale throws his shots with enough force or the correct technique to do much damage early on.

So it’s a waiting game with Groves trying to take the steam out of Degale and Degale trying to frustrate Groves. But there’s something that makes me think Degale won’t stand and fight if he’s not getting everything his own way.

Keep in mind he’s only fought one notable opponent with a style custom-made for him in Smith. Anderson, conversely, was a much tougher job for a guy like Groves. Styles make fights and I see Degale having more trouble with Groves than he did Smith, and Groves having less trouble with Degale approach in the early rounds.

Hopefully this shows us whether Degale’s got more than a mouth.

 

Pacquiao vs Cotto isn't a bad comparison actually, in terms of how the fight might pan out.

Stylewise DeGale isn't anything like but Groves does have some attributes that Cotto has, and weaknesses too, notably getting hit a bit too much and wasting energy.

 

I agree with this actually. DeGale looks stronger coming forward at the moment though he does have some potential to go backwards also. He's certainly not polished in that area just yet. Groves is not very good under pressure, his reflex based defence tends to unravel pretty quickly in close.

So if you combine these factors, Groves needs to keep his punching long where he probably does enjoy an edge in power and punch technique. He can't afford ever to have DeGale on his chest.

 

Groves needs to mix his shots well and dig them in, as that's one thing I don't think Degale is going to do.

I think he's going to move, paw out his jab and throw off aesthetically pleasing but sloppy 'slaps' (really is for lack of a better term, sorry chaps) and stay out of danger. Groves will be looking to cut off the ring and mix his shots well but focusing on his body assault, which is decent.

Degale should be looking to exploit the obvious flaws in Groves' game: his adoption of David Hayes stance (Roy Jones without the footwork and elusiveness) and the fact he can be hit. I think Degale will land the occasional nice hook as Groves tries to make the fight and win pretty handily on points.

Then, Groves might have the durability to walk Degale down. I agree that zdegale will look at his best when someone comes at him, which Groves will enevitably do once he realises being-faux cagey isn't stopping him getting hit. But I also think Degale is a bit unnerved by Groves and might get more ragged as the fight goes on if Groves is still there punching him.

Conditioning for these, let's be honest, 'prospects', is going to be a major factor in this 12-rounder IMO. Let's assuming Degale plays it safe mind. If they've both got good engines, can take each others dig and come to fight it could be a classic.

I do think that Degale has appeared classier so far, but Paup Snith is a below average fighter. As impressive as the performance was, Smith is undersized, not very good and no puncher. Groves is better, and will force Degale to show more than we've seen from him this far, as impressive as he has been, sporadically.

 

Always said that!! Never rated Snith....