Froch beats Groves in terrible stoppage; Leapai Outpoints Boytsov in Germany

groves02020In a classic case of poor refereeing, IBF/WBA super middleweight champion Carl Froch (32-2, 23 KO’s) stopped George Groves (19-1, 15 KO’s) in the 9th round on Saturday night when the referee jumped in between the action of the two fighters and stopped it in the middle of an exchange at the Phones 4u Arena, Manchester, United Kingdom.

It was an incredibly weird stoppage and pathetic at the same time because the referee did a disservice to all the paying fans by prematurely stopping the fight.

Froch hurt Groves with a big windup right hand to start the ball rolling for the stoppage. Groves held onto Froch briefly to try and clear his head, but then Groves seemed to be already and got separation.

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Carl Froch vs. George Groves Hours Away: Who Wins?

froch126Who wins Froch-Groves?

A few weeks ago, I would’ve confidently picked Carl Froch by early to mid rounds KO. Now, I’m not so sure – but I’m still leaning towards the Cobra.

Groves has done a fantastic job of getting under the champion’s skin; refusing to play the respectful ‘happy to get my opportunity against a great champion’ role and consistently confronting the WBA/IBF belt holder with a series of flaws – or ‘truths’, as Groves likes to call them – that he has found in the Cobra’s résumé.

Froch, for his part, has largely tried to play the cool champion who isn’t fazed by a disrespectful young upstart. He hasn’t carried the act well though, and at times has seemed irritated by Groves’ ability to calmly analyze his words and turn them cleverly against him. It’s fair to say that Groves has got the better of Froch in the pre-fight bickering that is so much a part of the psychological battle in a big fight.

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Froch vs. Groves weigh-in live stream

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Carl Froch and George Groves had to be separated at today’s weigh-in for their World title clash at the Phones4u Arena in Manchester tomorrow night, live on Sky Sports Box Office, in association with bet365.

Froch tipped the scales the heavier man at 11st 13lbs 12oz with Groves over a pound lighter at 11st 12lbs 6oz, and as they squared up they had to be pulled apart after the champ twice whispered into the challenger’s ear.

Not even those on the stage would be able to hear what ‘The Cobra’ said to ‘Saint’ George over the raucous atmosphere created by the packed crowd at Manchester Central, but Froch was quick to tell Sky Sports News that he was leaving Groves in no doubt as to the magnitude of the occasion.

“I was just letting him know he is in deep water,” said Froch. “The time is now. David Haye will say the same, it’s just sort of bringing reality.

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Froch vs. Groves: The Case for George Groves

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In the lead up to what promises to be a classic contest, George Groves has been impressive. In fact it’s hard to think of a fighter imbued with as much self belief and confidence as he is right now. It is even more impressive when you consider he is about to step into the ring in the biggest and most important fight of his life in front of a packed Manchester Arena with millions more watching on pay per view against as formidable opponent as Carl Froch.

Groves believes he can win this fight and so do I. He believes he has the attributes to do so and so do I.
 
What are those attributes?
 
Terrific handspeed and accuracy: power (15 KOs in a 19 fight unbeaten record tells no lies): excellent lateral movement: the ability to throw shots from different angles: ring awareness: the discipline to box to a gameplan, as demonstrated against James De Gale when he defeated him over 12 rounds in 2011. Perhaps most important of all, he is superb when boxing off the back foot.

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George Groves: I am a nightmare for Carl Froch

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George Groves believes he has the measure of Carl Froch ahead of their clash for Froch’s WBA and IBF World Super Middleweight titles at the sold-out Phones 4u Arena in Manchester on Saturday (November 23), live on Sky Sports Box Office.

Unbeaten Groves fights in his first World title contest in the North West, as Froch dons the gloves for his 11th fight in a row with a coveted strap on the table. ‘The Saint’ has been bullish in the build-up and has been awarded victory by many in the verbal battle between him and the champ – and the popular Londoner says the time is right for him to defeat Froch.

“This is the fight I have always wanted,” said Groves, speaking at his public work-out at the Westfield Shopping Centre in Shepherd’s Bush. “I respect Carl Froch for achieving what he has in the sport, and I know he’s a tough fighter, but I also believe he is beatable and that I have the style to cause him nightmares.

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DeGale wants Froch to KO Groves

froch678James DeGale thinks George Groves (19-0, 15 KO’s) is wasting his time with his efforts to try and unnerve IBF/WBA super middleweight champion Carl Froch (31-2, 22 KO’s) before their fight this month on November 23rd in Manchester, UK. Groves has Froch pretty flustered looking in their meeting on Sky Ringside last Thursday to the point where Groves felt that Froch was on verge of tears. DeGale thinks Froch is too good to lose to Groves .

DeGale said to the Daily Mail “George really believes he is going to win this fight but I have no idea where he gets his confidence. He comes across on TV like a cocky schoolboy but he’s kidding himself that he’s getting to Carl psychologically…I want him to knock him out. And I believe he will do that.”

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Hearn: I’ve never seen Froch so rattled before

froch673Matchroom Sport promoter Eddie Hearn was very surprised at how his fighter IBF/WBA super middleweight champion Carl Froch (31-2, 22 KO’s) seemed to come unglued last Thursday night on the Sky Ringside show with his opponent George Groves (19-0, 15 KO’s). Froch was under constant pressure from Groves the entire program with Groves needling him while the two fighters sat on the same bench in the studio.

Near the end of the shot, Froch looked like he was on the verge of tears from Groves comments. Instead of backing off, Groves went for the kill and started pointing out that Froch looked like he was about to cry. It was bad for Froch because he turned to Hearns to see if he would step in to deflect some of the stuff that Groves was saying, but Hearn just sat silently not saying a word. Froch even attempted to get the Ringside host Johnny Nelson to start asking questions of him, but Nelson seemed to be paralyzed by what was transpiring between Froch and Groves.

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Froch vs Groves LIVE and exclusive in the United States on awetv.com

froch#7On Saturday afternoon November 23rd, boxing fans will get an early holiday gift as one of most anticipated All-English bouts in a long time will take place as IBF/WBA Super Middleweight champion Carl Froch defends his crown against undefeated George Groves.

The bout will be televised LIVE and exclusively in the United States by AWE and awetv.com

The announcement comes on the heels of a great afternoon of boxing that will see IBF number-one Welterweight Kell Brook take on former WBA Welterweight champion Vyacheslav Senchenko that will be shown LIVE TODAY AT 3 PM EST / 12 PACIFIC

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Video: Carl Froch – George Groves Press Conference; Crolla Signs With Matchroom

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Tickets for Carl Froch’s WBA and IBF Super Middleweight title defence against George Groves at the Phones 4u Arena Manchester on November 23 will go on sale at midday on Tuesday (September 17).

Tickets priced at £30, £40 and £60 (upper tier), £80, £100, £150 and £200 (lower tier), £200, £300 and £500 (floor) will go on sale via phones4uarena.co.uk or by calling 0844 847 8000, while £800 VIP Gold packages are exclusively available through matchroomboxing.com or by calling 01277 359 900.

Froch and Groves will come face-to-face at a press conference as tickets go on sale and promoter Eddie Hearn expects another sold out show featuring The Cobra.

“Phones and twitter hasn’t stopped for tickets since we announced this fight had been made,” said Hearn. “Froch vs. Kessler II sold out in a few hours and we are expecting massive demand when the lines and website open on Tuesday.” Full Press Conference:

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Froch-Groves set for November 23rd in Manchester, UK

froch9999IBF/WBA super middleweight champion Carl Froch (31-2, 22 KO’s) will be defending his titles against unbeaten George Groves (19-0, 15 KO’s) on November 23rd in a 50-50 fight at the Phones 4u Arena (formerly M.E.N Arena), in Manchester, United Kingdom. This is really one of those fights that is very difficult to predict the outcome mainly because Froch was so poor looking in his recent win over Mikkel Kessler last May.

If you saw that fight you’ll have noticed that Froch is incredibly slow now, and very clumsy-looking. Kessler could have won that fight and probably should have except that he didn’t start fighting until the 5th round.

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