I wouldnt be suprised if George Groves retired to be frank after that loss to Callum Smith. His demeanour in that defeat really was that of a guy who was saying to himself WTF am I killing myself to make weight..... and I really dont need to do this anymore... DeGale vs Eubank Jr could be made in Feb/March next year. There is a lot of boxing in december and alot of PPVs, and its obvious that this would be a PPV fight. Having said that I think that Callum Smith will be looking at Eubank Jr as well as DeGale, and thinking there is a real big money fight for him there. If I was advising Callum then I would say go after DeGale, because he is absolutely shot to bits and would be a relatively easy win for a lot of money.
December was never going to happen to many ppv's in a short month ( christmas week ruled out) Apparently theres a major deal with ITV in the works with ppv and non ppv fights so i'm guessing getting that sorted is delaying it all
No doubt in my mind that Degale has waited out to see if he can get the Groves fight instead. Minus AJ hearing Wilder's name, I've never seen a fighter so shook when they hear a certain fighters name like DeGale with Eubank. He does NOT want that work.
Degale has looked awful last few outings, Eubank has been beaten a few times and found wanting at elite level and Groves has taken a fair few punches in his career and seems pretty switched on, he won't kill himself unless the money is right
Groves might still yet trigger the rematch clause against Callum Smith which according to Gallagher, he has every right to do.
You know what, I think that's a fight he can win, but he won't. Even though he was imo starting to get control of the fight. Reminds me of Froch fights, I just think he gets caught again or trades too much, gets taken out. I've always been a fan of Groves but he just can't seem to not get involved or over trade at some point of a fight. I also think he's been to long at the weight. A lot of smiths punches had an effect on him, certainly doesn't hold a shot well now.
Don't forget his shoulder injury in the Eubank Jr fight too. I don't know the science behind it so I'm not sure it will ever be the same again physically, but mentally it's bound to leave an impact on a fighter.
I didn't know there was a rematch clause. Did Groves and Smith have a seperate contract with each other to their contract with the WBSS or something? Cos I'm assuming when they signed their contracts with the WBSS there weren't rematch clauses.
Not sure how it’s been done mate but it’s definitely the case. I’d heard it a couple of times prior to their fight but Gallagher confirmed it a week after their fight, too.
Groves has had a long hard career. He's one of those guys that's almost never in an easy fight. 30+ fights. He's had De Gale, Froch x 2, Jack, Chudinov wasn't pain sailing, Eubank with the late injury, Smith that's 6 or 7 real tough fights along with making weight and getting in the ring over the years even taking out someone like Cox drains the battery's. He's not a young fighter anymore there is millage on the clock. It's probably time to go up in weight or call it day. His best win is still arguably De Gale in 2011. For me the obvious fight is De Gale V Groves and the winner gets one last crack at a big fight. Is GGG moving up? That could be interesting. If Eubank faces De Gale you would think Eubank would be the favorite after De Gales last two fights he looks awful and has no jab to stop anyone walking him down. I'm sure Eubank will be competitive against lower tier fights but unless he learns to straighten his punches he's not going to beat the top fighters ultra aggression and fitness only get you so far - - maybe he needs something doing to his shoulder or what ever getting a belt will be tuff unless he can pick his moment and jump on someone like Truax at the right time.
