Groves looked good but not spectacular and still think Degale would beat him. Groves sounded like he wanted Degale next but obviously he's not going to say otherwise. Does anyone know if this is close to being confirmed and when they are most likely to fight?
I agree with most that Degale will beat Groves. But I was asking more is how would Groves' progress thus far be judged if Degale wasn't around doing his thing and we had such an obvious comparison.
Groves impressed me in only a few things he did last night. He was however much too open, that hanging left hand will be the undoing of him as soon as he fights anyone even nearing the ability of DeGale. Paul Smith and Kenny Anderson are not too far apart in terms of quality of opposition and DeGale completely dominated his oppo whereas Groves only just escaped a complete disaster. I think we will see the gulf in class between these two grow wider over the next few years with DeGale winning a genuine world title inside 3 years.
the way groves fight he will get kod ,he needs to get backed to how he used to fight ,drop this low lead **** he dont have the reflexs and speed to pull it off....im telling ya hes gonna get sparked right out.
a good trainer can train fighters of all styles, booth can't he tries to mould people on haye..even if they don't have the reflexes,athletisism to to implement that style
Groves needs to do a lot but he has some great raw tools will be in some interesting fights for sure good heart average chin decent puncher and ambition mean we should see some great fights from him in the future some great back and forth battles. I would like to see him less relaxed his defence tighter, develop his jab and work off it and to stop winging in his punches he seems a bit wild sometimes also the obvious less posturing and more economy of movement
The OP asks for judgements on Groves in isolation, forget about Degale, just Groves. Has anybody managed that yet?
DeGale has improved, George hasn't. DeGales fights have looked easy, Groves vs Anderson looked much harder. DeGale seems to want to fight the best and his promoter seems to want to increase his level of competition, Groves seems the opposite. After the passing of Sutherland, I thought Gavin was the best amateur to turn pro but with Groves a real prospect to achieve big things. However, too many fighters just don't improve and it is vital. Carl Froch in his early days is one of the worst fighters I've seen but he did improve and that is the only reason he was able to keep stepping up in levels.
Making a thread about Groves with DeGale being mentioned is like making one about Manny/Wlad/Lopez and asking to isolate it from Mayweather/Haye/Gamboa. It just aint gonna happen
Groves just doesn't convince me, he looks like an aggresive fighter by trade trying to do a poor imitation of a defensive fighter. Nothing against Groves the man, but he does make me cringe how sloppy his basic fundamentals are. I thought Groves barely won their amateur fight, that he basically won by outhussling De Gale, but I dont think it will play out the same way in the pro's, as there are more rounds to adapt in the pro's.
Agree with this, people are getting a carried away with Degale. alright he's got talent so does Groves and I think Groves has still beat better opposition. I actually think Anderson is better than Smith.
Interesting question, if no DeGale then how would we rate Groves? Groves is doing well and he would be getting much more credit if DeGale wasnt doing even better. The thing holding Groves back at the moment is the level of opponent. Allotey wasnt great and he didnt seem that interested on Friday after he felt Groves' power, but he can only beat what is in front of him and he has done that well for the most part. I'm not sure has has improved all that much from his first few performances though. He's obviously got what it takes to be on the domestic level and possibly european level but we need to see more from him before talking about him as a world class prospect. He's 22 though and has plenty of time to develop. He should take things at his own pace without trying to match DeGale's acheivements.