It all comes down to whether eubank can absorb Groves’ natural power advantage. If he can he wins at a canter on points. Possibly even a stoppage. But Groves can bang, I’m not so sure Eubank can take it! It is cliche and we’ve all said it a million times but it is a genuine 50/50. I’m edging slightly more towards Eubank today.
Groves has a "cramped" style that prevents him from fully using his size, height. His right leg is bent and he doesn't stand tall. Also his hand positioning is not the best either. He is prone to getting overwhelmed at times, pushed to the ropes etc. If his jab doesn't keep jr at bay he could be in trouble.
Has anyone watched the Chudinov fight back? I watched it today, from Middle of round 3 onwards Groves started to take control, as he relaxed more. Chudinov was absolutely relentless from the beginning and yet it was Groves who looked the fresher of the two in round 5/6, Chudinov slowed down in the 5th. I can't see CEJ being anything like that and even if he is, he's going to absorb so many shots it will slow him down. Think people are forgetting CEJ has come UP in weight. I'll say Groves and I think there's a strong argument he stops him Eubank. Are people also forgetting it was Groves who made sure CEJ was on his side of the draw.
He’s pacing himself much better these days mate. Experience has taught him that you don’t need to finish the job in the early rounds. I don’t see anything wrong with his stance @lencoreastside . He’s predominantly a counter-puncher so leans forward to try and set traps and make his opponent fall short, plus he gets more range on that jab. I’ve been rewatching more Eubank fights. He likes to hang on the outside (taking a sneaky breather), and picks his moment to rush at his opponent, dipping his head and torso low...it’s a bit like when you run from your front door to the car when it’s hailstoning
To be fair, I just noticed Eubank does that also, but he's actually quite clever that he does it to get close and he likes to hold when he does it if he can't launch an attack, it's actually very sneaky how he does it and quite impressive.
Agreed. It is impressive and clever. He’s an intelligent lad and uses a bit of show boating to not only catch a breather but imply to the judges that he’s in charge.
Genuinely cant make a case for the ginger one. Maybe 5 years ago but right now Junior is levels above. Easy win for CEJ.
IMO the worst strategy for Groves is to try and make Jr work when he is a taking a breather. Not only will Groves burn energy using this tactic, Jr recovers very quickly and whatever Groves lands it will get repaid 10 fold when he stops punching and Jr can throw a lot more shots in short bursts then Groves can. Groves needs to slow the pace down, not try and make it faster lol. I remember Billy Joe claimed he did this which was rubbish, Jr only ever fights at the pace he wants to. When Billy had his most success the rounds were very slow.
I also keep going back and forth. The telling part for me is we almost certainly know what Groves has in his locker. He's had enough fights in the last few years that show his limits and what he is capable of. I'd argue that what Jr has shown so far isn't enough to say he's at Groves's level. I just can't put much stock in the likes of Yildrim, Quinlan and the ghost of Abraham. I also think Jr was a bit too green against BJS for that to tell us too much. I do think (and very much hope) that we haven't seen the best of Jr yet. Anyone correctly calling for Jr to win, especially by KO, will undoubtedly be making a great shout. But GG is the more obvious bet.
BJS gassing in that fight was one of the worst things to happen for Junior in terms of his development. He didn’t have to adapt in that fight and find another way to win. If the second half of the fight had gone like the first, then Junior might have gone back to the drawing board and looked at why he was ineffective. It would have forced him to look at other parts of his game instead of falsely reinforcing this idea that his (one and only) approach was enough to brake down his opponent. In the post fight conference he said Billy won because he ran, held & spoiled. He did not learn from it imo. In the fights post BJS...has Eubank ever needed to find another way to win, as anyone even seen him lose 2 rounds in a row since that defeat and have to bring something new to the table to turn it round? I think this is important at world level. If he’s never had to adapt...then what exactly has he improved skills wise? Groves and McGuigan spoke about working on that body shot in the training camp. They anticipated that Cox would bring it on the inside. They worked together and put together a plan B....who’s Junior listening to, what’s his plan B? One thing is clear....if Eubank wins, i’m going to look like a right tool. Even more than usual.
Jr did adapt in that fight, he was mucking around trying to counter Saunders in the 1st few rounds and then he took the fight to the inside and starting having huge success? Jr has probably had to adapt 100x+ in the gyms as well and it pays off in the ring? The Saunders fight has actually pushed Jr to another level, he is all business in the ring now, no mucking around at the start of fights. I honestly expect you to be spinning the same tune even after Jr knocks off Groves, pretty much saying he still has no chance against Saunders, Canelo and GGG. Groves would be favoured to beat them though before this fight at least.
That's what people don't understand stand he always uses the same tactics every fight and imo he only had success in the Saunders fight because Saunders was half trained and all the other fights were picked for a reason what's he gonna do when everytime he goes to do his thing his get hit hard and clean for some reason his fan boys think his gonna walk throw on the night a light heavy even froch couldn't do that and he has a proven granite chin groves power is getting completely underrated imo theres no way Eubank is just walking throw a shot like Froch took his getting laid out with it
When he tried to move in, Saunders would spin out the way and switch angles. He couldn’t work his way in because Saunders was gone. Eventually, Saunders gassed and his footwork could no longer get him out of trouble as effectively. Eubank’s superior athleticism took over. Mucking about? I think you’re doing BJS a disservice there. Do you really think Junior was choosing to fight at that tempo in the first half of the fight. He wanted to make it a scrap from the first bell, mate. He just wasn’t allowed to make it his kind of fight. James, if Eubank wins, I will start a thread saying that i’m a fool who doesn’t know what he’s talking about. You can hold me to that. We’re polar opposites on this subject but respect to you.
I won't deny Groves is strong but pushing back isn't the same as clinching. In that first round when he's caught on the ropes he just puts up his guard and buries his head into Cox's chest and pushes him back. Cox should of put his forearm on his head and pushed his head down, then stepped back or side stepped to create space to throw. In later rounds Cox smothered his work, though he had some moments in round 2 when he had Groves on the ropes and Groves as always traded instead of looking to slip away or clinch. Groves main issue for me is he doesn't know how to really control the pace of a fight. He's pretty much all out from first bell to the end of the fight which is why he's known to fade late. He's always looking to attack, always in a position to attack. When on the ropes he doesn't tie up he trades, which led to his KO vs Froch. He doesn't look to create space to get a breather because even when he does do that he immediately gets back into range, he's almost always standing right in front of his opponent, hands down, looking to counter. He only clinches when an opponent falls in and he doesn't have a chance to throw.