Boxing News: George Groves Focused on Badou Jack, Snubs Carl Froch's Criticism
World Boxing Council super middleweight mandatory challenger George Groves' focus is to nab the title from current champion Badou Jack on Saturday, Sept. 12 at the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas, nothing else, not even former foe Carl Froch.
Froch, the only fighter who defeated Groves, commented that "Saint George" is already a "tarnished" boxer after being crushed by his hands, noted Daily Mail. The retired boxer stated that Groves "may be more or less finished" and that he may not even be mentally prepared for his Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Andre Berto undercard match with Jack.
Groves who suffered two knockout losses from "The Cobra," per BoxRec, wouldn't be able to avenge these defeats as the four-time world champion has retired in July to become Sky Sports' pundit, as The Guardian noted, but he could move on. "Saint George" also knows the best way to negate Froch's statements is to capture the WBC crown from Jack.
"I need to prove him wrong on Saturday...I will do my talking in the ring, he is a retired fighter, just a pundit, all he is now is an opinion. I am not fussed about what Carl or anyone else for that matter has to say," Groves told Daily Star.
"I have faced a lot of criticism in my career but more so over the last couple of years and it has never stopped me going forward," the 27-year-old boxer said.
Indeed, after back-to-back TKO losses from Froch in 2013 and 2014, he reportedly came back with back-to-back victories. He won via a unanimous decision against Christopher Rebrasse in September of last year at the Wembley Arena in London, just less than four months after his second loss from Froch. Then, he managed a 7th round TKO win against Denis Douglin at the Echo Arena in Merseyside in November of the same year.
It seems that rather than being down by his losses from Froch, they even fueled him to seek more fights.
WBC belt to win
He knows that his journey will be all worth it when he gets to hold the championship belt this Saturday.
"I came back after losing last year and won the European title, I became the mandatory of the WBC. Since then we've been rolling and waiting for our opportunity to fight for the WBC belt," Groves said, as quoted by Boxing News.
The challenger is also confident that he will surprise people who perceive his upcoming fight as a "50-50 match up" as he is ready to deliver a great performance to "steal the show."
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