Groves - Smith

Groves will certainly hurt Smith and will test his chin. I expect a cautious start but once it ignites i expect for it to stay ignited. I agree we will see how good Smith is. I think we will see he is a special talent, though he will be hurt and might even go down before winning. Can't wait for this fight. May the best man win.

 

I think Saint George has entered the imperial stage of his career, looking strong and confident in his abilities. Groves is vulnerable to guys who are going to try and bang him out, but Smith ain't that guy. Smith tries to box with Groves, shows him too much respect, and loses a wide unanimous decision for his troubles.

 

Groves was on flipflops, callum had thick soled shoes on. 6:11 in iflv weighin

 

Smith is some sort of master boxer now? The same Smith who struggled with Rebrasse, the 6'1" guy with a 74" reach that Groves brushed aside easily in one of his worst performances?

The only standout attribute Smith has is his size, everything else is Brit level which is no bad thing in and of itself - he's a quality fighter. If Groves is 100% then it's a wide decision I think.

 

I don't think Groves is 100% at all, I just don't rate Smith particularly highly at world level. His size is a massive advantage and is the sole reason we're watching him challenging for a SMW world title in the WBSS tournament rather than boxing at a lower level on smaller shows at LHW.

 

hardly a bum but your post reeks of hypocrisy, if you truly believe that Smith is a bum then how can you argue about the fight not getting a lot of exposure?! If its really a no contest and Smith is actually a bum why do care that this fight aint being truly hyped up?

 

If Groves shoulder is up to it I think I would have him for a KO. I have strong doubts as he will have had only really rested for 4/5 months really after surgery and the start of his camp. That shoulder would have weakened a fair bit through complete rest and muscle will have deteriorated meaning that extra focus on the shoulder would be needed in camp that takes time away from other things so Id say a bad injury followed by a less than ideal training camp could be very difficult to overcome

 

Im really starting to lean towards Smith but have that nagging doubt about Joe Gallaghers tactics.

Groves' shoulder also creates a huge doubt for me and somebody made a great point about how Groves has been fighting alot of smaller guys recently.

 

Has Groves ever switched southpaw during a fight? Still have real concerns over his shoulder, wonder if they’ve worked on a gameplan in the event that his left shoulder goes again. One things for sure Groves is not a quitter. I’m sure that if his shoulder goes mid fight he will fight on.

 

yup looking forward to it ... friday night boxing... love it dont get enough of it IMO.

I hope Groves can pull it out the bag but have my doubts with his shoulder. Like many i seem to have developed a soft spot for him. When he won his title i was genuinely screaming at the tv in support of him to finish Chudinov. Before then I had never supported him, I even think Froch support him now !

 

Groves comes across so well now, I admit i’m a fan. Looking forward to his Spitfire prodigy walk-on music tonight. I’m a fan of Smith too, so i’m finding it a v hard fight to judge.

It’s hard not to be swayed by height/reach advantage but there are many examples of smaller fighters bossing it against bigger men. The only difference here though is Smith does not look weight drained...

 

yeah, the other good thing in this fight is either man is capable of KO'ing the other so even if its a dull fight you know at any minute it can light right up and that creates tension for the viewer.

 

smith looks massive at the weight

skoglund had a lot of success against smith and I think groves is levels above erik

as long as groves injured shoulder is 100 percent and he's sharp he'll tag smith with that jab all night, not sure it is 100 percent, whats that brown triangle stain on his body from under the shoulder at the weigh in?

could end up being easy work for smith