Froch vs. Groves

Froch-Groves meet at Wembley press conference ahead of rematch – 60,000 tickets gone in an hour!

Froch-Groves meet at Wembley press conference ahead of rematch - 60,000 tickets gone in an hour!

Today in England at Wembley in the nation’s capital, Carl Froch and George Groves came face to face at a press conference to officially announce their May 31st rematch. There is, as surely everyone knows, no love lost between the two rival super-middleweights, and today the two had some harsh words for one another ahead of the fight that has, amazingly shifted 60,000 tickets after just one hour of them going on sale.

Groves, who was TKO’d in the 9th round back in November, spoke first and had more to say than Froch:

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Froch showing no interest in Groves rematch

froch0567If George Groves (19-1, 15 KO’s) is going to get a rematch against IBF/WBA super middleweight champion Carl Froch (32-2, 23 KO’s), then it’s probably going to take a change of tactics for him to get Froch to start showing interest in giving him a second chance.

Froch says he’s not interested in fighting Groves again because he’s not shown him the proper respect since their controversial fight from last month in Manchester. Froch won that fight by a 9th round stoppage after he hurt Groves with a series of head shots that caused the referee Howard John Foster to step in and halt the fight.

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Froch’s Reputation Relies on Rematch with Groves

froch56267Only a few years ago it took an ardent boxing fan to recall the name Carl Froch. A stunning comeback victory against Jermaine Taylor in 2009, coupled with a Gatti-esque performance against Mikkel Kessler and a dominating victory over Arthur Abraham affirmed Froch as the fighter with the sports toughest schedule from 2009-11. Facing 6 former world champions in a 3 year period burnished Froch’s reputation as a fighter not only willing to test himself against the best, but to define his reputation by doing so. However, it was his blistering demolition of the then unbeaten Lucian Bute in May of 2012 that finally made Froch a household name in his native Britain.

Those who have long followed Froch and those who have since made up for lost time and caught up on his bellicose exploits have become enamourned with a fighter who’s heart unceasingly triumphs his lack of speed and skill. Fighters like Froch, who to quote the often used boxing caption leave it all in the ring, merit a special admiration from fight fans. A boxer will always be praised, but a fighter will be adulated. Carl Froch is unmistakably a fighter.

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Froch seems to be leaning towards career finale in Vegas, Groves says he’d stop Froch in six-rounds in a rematch

groves7844The fallout over last weekend’s epic yet controversial Carl Froch-George Groves fight continues. Amid reported death threats aimed at referee Howard Foster – who, as if you didn’t know, halted the fight in the 9th-round, instantly coming under fire from just about everybody, the feeling being that he halted the action prematurely – fans continue to talk about a possible rematch between the two British rivals.

Fans also continue to either praise Groves and have a go at Froch, or, is some cases, praise both fighters. But you will be hard pressed to find anyone who is entirely satisfied with what went down in Manchester last Saturday. The only way to end the controversy, the thinking goes, is to get Froch and Groves back in the ring ASAP. But it’s almost never that simple in boxing.

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Carl Froch vs George Groves: A Double mugging

groves834 At first glance it would appear that in the Froch/Groves fight last Saturday, George Groves was robbed too early in the fight.

On second glance, it wculd also be conceived the other way round.

Groves was clearly winning the fight up to the that point, 10/8 round to Groves in the first round and won most of the rounds after that until the 9th round.

Froch was slow and messy, Groves was sharp and to the point until the 6th round, at that point Groves power seemed to fade, decent combos deflected off the side of Froch’s face like we have seen from everyone who has fought him in the past.

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Groves: Froch was on his last legs, gassing out

froch7771George Groves (19-1, 15 KO’s) confesses that one of the reasons why he wasn’t throwing a lot of shots back at IBF/WBA super middleweight champion Carl Froch (32-2, 23 KO’s) last Saturday night in his 9th round stoppage loss was that he thought that if he let Froch expend a lot of energy that he’d gas out and he’d be able to take advantage of that in the remaining three rounds of the fight.

Unfortunately what happened was the referee Howard John Foster saw Groves not punching and he likely figured he was more hurt than he really was so he stopped the fight.

You’ve got to put a lot of the blame for the defeat on the hands of Groves for making the decision to let Froch use up energy throwing shots.

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Groves feels Froch doesn’t want a rematch

froch5629George Groves (19-1, 15 KO’s) thinks he was done a huge injustice last Saturday night when the referee stopped the fight in the 9th round and took away his opportunity to try and beat IBF/WBA super middleweight champion Carl Froch (32-2, 23 KO’s) in Manchester, UK. Froch and the referee were both both booed loudly by the crowd after the fight.

When Froch was interviewed by Sky, he told his promoter Eddie Hearn that they should set up a rematch with Groves to set things right. But Groves doesn’t think Froch was on the level when he said that. He feels that Froch just said it to get the crowd to stop booing him and to start giving him some applause.

Groves said to Sky “I think he said it because he was hoping for some cheers from the crowd, and he probably doesn’t believe that he wants a rematch. This is the biggest fight out there for him. There’s no reason for him not to have it. The last thing he wants is to get in the ring with me again.”

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Froch/Groves: Post Fight Videos

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Carl Froch climbed off the canvas to stop the brilliant George Groves to retain his WBA and IBF World Super Middleweight titles in the ninth round of their epic battle at the sold-out Phones 4u Arena in Manchester.

Groves stunned the Froch in the opening round of the contest, delivering on his pre-fight vow land right hands and take the fight to the champion, by dumping the champion on his back with one of those brutal right hands. The Cobra managed to get to his feet and survive the round, and the tone was set.

The Londoner continued to pepper Froch with the right hand throughout the fight while Froch’s moments of success were fleeting. ‘Saint’ George was able to take those attacks and counter at as he retained the upper hand in the first half of the fight, before one of the greatest rounds seen in a British ring in a sixth when Groves landed some huge shots and Froch responded in kind.

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Froch vs Groves: Chewing the Froch

froch56236After having watched a childish Groves in the build up to the fight, he truly showed his class on the night, out jabbing and landing numerous vicious right hands on Froch’s granite titanium chin.

The commentator Jim Watt, a Murray Walker type was clearly loving Groves’ work and lamenting Froch’s poor jab, which only in his last fight against the viking Dane, had been praised so much. One thing is sure enough though, on Saturday, the Cobra was looking more like a grass snake..

Getting to the point of this mini-article, perhaps the stoppage was the best thing possible for Groves and the contrary for Froch. The fans have been quick to blast the referee. Groves has indeed the lost the fight in the literal sense, but in way he is the winner.

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The Heroism Of George Groves

groves7844George Groves put in a performance against Carl Froch at the Manchester Phones4U Arena that will go down in boxing history as one of the most heroic, courageous, and audacious ever seen in the ring. All the way through the build up to the fight, Carl Froch had talked like a man who was going to roll over George Groves like a juggernaut, rattled by the younger man’s extraordinary confidence and belief.

Yet when they entered the ring it was Groves who appeared calm and focused, while the champion appeared agitated, nervous even. You sensed then that this was going to be special.

Groves told us he was going to come out and take the centre of the ring and he did exactly that, beating Froch to the jab again and again and countering with a right hand that soon began to find the mark. When sensationally he put the champion down with ten seconds left of the first round, it looked all but over.

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