Groves, Price or Cleverly?

If I had to pick one it would be Price..

But to be honest I don't expect any of them to turn out to be world class operators. :-(

 

I do.

 

Well, looking at their respective five best bedpost notches to date:

Groves
DeGale
Johnson
Anderson
Smith
Contreras

Price
Sexton
Skelton
McDermott
Dallas
Harrison/Peret (debatable)

Cleverly
Bellew
Murat
McIntosh
Kuziemski
Hawk


Groves has the best resume, followed by Cleverly. Price has looked most consistent, albeit on the weakest schedule.

Groves is in the best division, Price the worst.

I'm going to say George Groves would project the highest, if it weren't for the depth at 168 proving an obstacle. Price could rise to the top in the post-K2 era. I suspect it will be Cleverly, however, who achieves the most championship longevity even if his roster of challengers (available or pursued) isn't of impeccable pedigree.

 

Optimistic

They all have weaknesses to be looked at. Price didn't look too great on the inside in his last fight. Groves has looked very open defensively at times. Cleverly lacks huge punching power.

But then, Price is excellent from range. Groves has fight-ending power. Cleverly has an excellent work-rate and stamina.

2013 is absolutely crucial for all of these guys. Price broke out and dominated domestically last year, but its important not to overblow that, he is yet to face a world level fighter. Groves, for all his wins over DeGale and Johnson are impressive, he has had a slow few years broken up by injury. Cleverly seems to be strangled by the confines of holding a belt, because he now has annoying mandatory's to face.

My prediction is: I expect Price to beat Thompson, but lose to Chisora. I think Groves will challenge Abraham at some point this year, he will overcome a few scares and perhaps a knockdown to win closely on points. Cleverly will finally get a unification fight against the winner of Hopkins-Cloud, he beats either.

 

That is a statement that shouldn't even have to be made public, it should just be common knowledge.

 

IB, how do you see Clev against the roster of:
-Hopkins?
-Cloud?
-Dawson?
-Pascal?

The only one I see him losing to is Dawson. Albeit its a bit of a guess, given Cleverly is yet to fight anyone of the level of the 4 above.

 

Burns is quality! Really finding his feet lately...

Everyone reckons Broner will walk through him! LOL. Burns is a big LW....5'10!

Make the fight....

 

Funny, Chad's the only one I see him beating. (likely via British stoppage, if not a real one)

Maybe Hopkins, but the Calzaghe fight gives me pause.

Cloud and Pascal beat him. Bellew in a rematch too. He lacks the jab or any deterrent to get a top-shelf banger's respect, and in any of these 3 match-ups we might see him seriously hurt for the first time.

 

Interesting point re: Bellew. I think Tony is a dark-horse at the weight. I just think Dawson would make it horrifically awkward for Cleverly.

Hopkins, again I'm assuming, is not what he was. He would spoil and tie up, but I think Cleverly grinds him down, perhaps to a late stoppage...

Cloud and Cleverly are quite similar I find, both reliant on volume, stamina, grit & durability. This is potentially the best fight there is at 175, a potential duke-out, but Cleverly has the height and reach. I think Cloud's power is good, but nothing special. I see Clev perhaps outworking him.

Pascal seems unable to shake the shoulder injury and he tends to struggle at times down the stretch of a gruelling fight. Cleverly digs well to the body, he would set a high tempo and I'm not sure Jean could keep up.