Nail your colours to the mast: Froch vs Groves 2 predicitons.

Just over a week now to the big British rematch, how does everyone see this one going ? Your truthful offical prediction, you'll have no place to hide when you log on after the fight.

Whoever gets the correct outcome wins a grand, prizemoney to be donated by the Mods.

I see a tepid affair, much more strategic and cautious by both fighters, with Groves winning a comfortable decision something like 117-110. With a decider to happen in November.

Cheers Rodders

Froch in the fourth after he drops him hard and the ref allows him to continue. The little ginger muppet then gets booed out of the ring having been outclassed by a someone way out of his league.

War. Froch. Trenches.

After staying out of bother and losing the first three rounds,Froch has warmed up and starts to get into the fight, gradually wears Groves down and  stops him in round 9 or 10.

Groves by KO rd 2.

Ill get my prediction in on day of weigh in - like to see how both fighters look on the scales and final head to head before jumping the gun with a prediction for a big fight.

Interesting you think a wide UD is even a remote possibility though Rodney; given the shoddy scoring in the first fight obviously you must think a much better group of judges will be ringside this time round?

I'm saying Groves UD. Also see Carl being really hurt at some point in the fight but let's be honest, he is nails and I see him hearing the final bell no matter what gets thrown at him.

Fair point Owen, never really thought about that. 114-114 draw then.

Cheers Rodders

If Groves wins a controversial decision they could sell out Hyde Park for round 3!

Froch stoppage - 7 -12

Don't see the fight going the distance and it's a tough call but I think Froch will stop Groves in the second half of the fight. Round 9 again and the ref to step in (again!).

I'm going for another Froch stoppage victory.

My reasoning is that I don't feel as if what happened in the first round is likely to happen more than once or twice out of ten. Essentially being knocked out in the first round by a left right that would have ended pretty much anybody else around 168 will have a lasting effect throughout the fight and be a major hindrance. Think Froch loses the first half of the fight less emphatically, then comes back to stop George whose punches appear to lose a lot of sting as the fight wears on.

All of this is based on the presumption that Froch won't have aged significantly, which he may well have, in which case he may get blasted early. His chin won't last forever. He was rocked awfully badly against Kessler and floored in his next fight.

The noises from the Groves camp have been about Froch being a 6 round fighter, it's just that those six rounds are the last six. This, along with justified scorecard paranoia, makes me think they're going to put it on him early to either take him out, or take enough out of him that he can't come back. It will be in the back of Groves' mind though that Froch has been correct about one thing in the build up: The first encounter did go as well.as Groves could've hoped for and he did hit Froch with everything and Froch was still there, stronger than ever as the fight went late.

So yeah, Froch WTKO10 for me. The opposite result wouldn't surprise me though.

Froch Win - TKO 5

Groves, early KO.

Possibly more in hope than anticipation, but there, I've said it.

I'm going for Groves stoppage, some where between rounds 5-8.

The way I see it is as follows:

Groves beat Froch in every department last time, speed, power, movement, Froch got beaten from pillar to post and because of his fantastic chin he managed to stand up to it, there are not many fights who would stand up to that amount of punishment.

Froch could win if Groves gets careless, its his fight to lose. Froch and his trainer have talked about how Froch is going to use the jab more and out box Groves, its not going to happen, Froch tried to land the jab and Groves was too quick for him. Froch's team have talked about using the Arthur Abraham plan, Groves and Arthur Abraham couldn't be any more different... I don't buy into the fact that Froch can be 50% better than he was last time, Groves is still going to be too quick for him and Froch still has his left hand by his waist, he won't change it, that right hand will still land. The reason Carl beat Bute was because he had no fear of what was coming back, in the first round Groves showed us that won't be the case here.

I think the last fight had to take an awful lot out of Froch and he has been in a lot of wars, Groves is going to really put a beating on him and whether he can survive it until Groves tires and gets careless is his only shot in my opinion. I personally don't think he will be able to take the punishment this time round.

Mind you I've been very wrong before, but that's the way I see it.

Makes me worry Groves is talking about blowing him away in 3 rounds though, that's a recipe for disaster, he needs to take his time.

Also Paddy said immediately after the first fight he believes they can take him out in 4-5 rounds and he isn't exactly someone who shoots his mouth off..

War Froch and all that. via Kayo Rd 6-8

Exactly how I see it JBW, the knockdown did change the whole complexion of the fight and did set Froch back a few rounds, I don't see it happening again. The right hand was landing all night but aside from the knockdown it didn't look like Froch was going to be stopped any time soon, gets through the first couple without alarm then steps on the gas.

Interesting decision to make.

After the first fight, i can see why many will put money on Groves. Fantastic skill set, quick, talented, VERY powerful early on in first 4-5 rounds minimum. Stamina is an issue although that only really apply against tough cookie fighters like Chavez or Froch who rely on stamina, chin and output to wear everyone down.

I think the first fight really got to Carl. Mentally he just wasn't geared up for it IMO. Came out flat footed, stupid,open, no game plan....took George far too lightly.

I don't think he repeats the same.

however, im torn in my decisions....

either the fight goes similar to Froch vs Taylor where by he is oitboxed handily, potentially dropped, but yet comes back under will power and grabs a late stoppage.

OR

Groves knows he can hurt him early om and will literally go out with the intent of putting Carl away for good, and to be fair, its a very very real possibility.

If i had to go with my heart, id say scenario 1....froch grabs a late stoppage in an epic battle similar to the first.

My head, unfortunately, is saying Groves knows his talents now. He knows he can hurt the normally granite chinned warrior, and will therefore destroy Carl in the first 4 rounds.

Im putting bets on Froch LKO and Groves EKO.

I cant really see it going to points....if it goes past 6, then Froch takes it....

BoxingFan88 wrote:I'm going for Groves stoppage, some where between rounds 5-8.

The way I see it is as follows:

Groves beat Froch in every department last time, speed, power, movement, Froch got beaten from pillar to post and because of his fantastic chin he managed to stand up to it, there are not many fights who would stand up to that amount of punishment.

Froch could win if Groves gets careless, its his fight to lose. Froch and his trainer have talked about how Froch is going to use the jab more and out box Groves, its not going to happen, Froch tried to land the jab and Groves was too quick for him. Froch's team have talked about using the Arthur Abraham plan, Groves and Arthur Abraham couldn't be any more different... I don't buy into the fact that Froch can be 50% better than he was last time, Groves is still going to be too quick for him and Froch still has his left hand by his waist, he won't change it, that right hand will still land. The reason Carl beat Bute was because he had no fear of what was coming back, in the first round Groves showed us that won't be the case here.

I think the last fight had to take an awful lot out of Froch and he has been in a lot of wars, Groves is going to really put a beating on him and whether he can survive it until Groves tires and gets careless is his only shot in my opinion. I personally don't think he will be able to take the punishment this time round.

Mind you I've been very wrong before, but that's the way I see it.

Makes me worry Groves is talking about blowing him away in 3 rounds though, that's a recipe for disaster, he needs to take his time.

Also Paddy said immediately after the first fight he believes they can take him out in 4-5 rounds and he isn't exactly someone who shoots his mouth off..

I see what you're saying. To use a football analogy, goals change games. The first round knockdown changed everything and both would have altered their tactics. Flip side to your argument, if Groves hadn't knocked him down would he have been so gung-ho and punched himself out?

A r1 knockdown is unlikely this time around. So maybe GG banks the early rounds and has enough left in the tank to see off the late onslaught. We shall see

Groves to stop Froch and be really smug about it afterwards.

Groves wins controversial SD/MD

Really want Froch to win this one. He got the fright of his life last time and was caught cold early on. Hopefully this time he gives Groves more respect and does not leave himself so open to the right hand. I'm going for a heavy-going, ground-out late stoppage from Carl. They have both behaved like complete fuds in the build up but I think Groves with the handshake and not letting go carry-on was just primary school behaviour. Away the Cobra!

Same viewpoint as JBW. Froch stoppage 9-12. Froch will be even less deterred if he's getting beaten up over the first 6. He doesn't lack confidence, and he'll be convinced he can catch up with groves at some point, and even more convinced that when he does he'll stop him.

Wow I'm really surprised so many are writing Groves off after what happened last time

I'm gonna go out on a limb and say Groves wins by KO in the second. I'm not in any way confident of it happening, and can see all sorts of different permutations - that's why this fight is so intriguing. I just can't forget the image of Groves being so much faster and so technically superior to Froch. I think with a bit more confidence and poise -which the first fight will no doubt have given him - he could put Froch away while he's fresh. I put £20 on a GG KO at around 5/1, but it was just a punt really. Can't wait to find out if I've judged it well or not. Should be a great occasion for British boxing.

Groves on points . Outboxes him for 8 rounds then gets on he's bike. Froch face a mess as he desperately tries to claw he's way back, but there is no way back he gets counterd all the way to the end of round 12.

Froch inside 8, Froch did not respect Groves last time and took things easy in training, will know not to make the same mistake again. If Groves could not get it done against that version of Froch he has no hope this time round.

Rowley wrote:Froch inside 8, Froch did not respect Groves last time and took things easy in training, will know not to make the same mistake again. If Groves could not get it done against that version of Froch he has no hope this time round.

One of the more sensible things you've said   

Rowley wrote:Froch inside 8, Froch did not respect Groves last time and took things easy in training, will know not to make the same mistake again. If Groves could not get it done against that version of Froch he has no hope this time round.

Drivel...Froch never cuts corners in training. He may be many things but being physically unprepared is not one of them. Are we expected to believe that Froch took Yusef Mack more seriously than Groves and therefore slacked off in training just prior to trying to secure a big fight in Vegas?

Froch is on the slide, Groves is on the rise...it's just a question of whether or not the timing is right for Groves to finish what he started. I expect both fighters to be hurt and one or both to climb off the canvas in this one. If Groves maintains his composure and doesn't get too cocky he should get a comfortable points win. Don't think Froch will disgrace himself (he never does) but I think his time is just about up.

No desire to see a Kessler rematch, a fight with Chavez Jr or see Froch humiliated by Ward again and think it's time the torch was passed.

Wouldn't surprise me if Froch got the win (although it would annoy me) and don't care who wins as long as it's clear cut and devoid of controversy

Groves strategy will be interesting in this fight. The consensus seems to be the fight follows a similar pattern to the first... and gives the obvious choices of groves early or froch late.

Is there a possibility that groves does what was expected of him in the first fight and fights on the back foot like he did against degale?

Whichever he'll need to pace himself. There are so many variables from the first fight that this is a dangerous fight to make a call in. Guess that's why we're all watching. I haven't a clue who'll win. My worry with groves has always been his instinct to brawl when hurt. With a gun to my head, I'd fear that that would cost him, but no result would surprise me.

No i don't Dave I expect you to believe Mack is not as good as Groves and hence a guy you can get away with it against. Froch had also sparred a lot of rounds with Groves as a kid, which probably gave him an unrealistic expectation of what George had in his locker.

The problem for Groves is that I can't see him stopping Froch So it gives Froch a 12 round window to catch him and when he does I think he'll go..

Froch Ko 4

Agree rowls, dropped him hard when they sparred and thought he'd just do the same again.

Just can't see past that Groves couldn't get that version of Froch out of there, what chance does he stand against a the trench fighting, war killing version?

The only way Froch loses if is he has got old overnight. Let's not forget he didn't show signs in a career best demolition of Bute and I'm still firmly sat on the side of the fence that Froch thought it'd be an easy nights work and hence looked a bit shot.

Looking forwards to the little chirpy ginger muppet and his gobby trainer being shut well and truly up with an emphatic performance from Froch.

War. Trenches. C'mon!

Froch may or may not have had the best camp last time... He claimed he wasn't hitting his training marks and hinted at injury. Could be true.

I don't buy the didn't take it seriously line. Regardless of how big a threat you think your opponent is, if you can't stand the guy, have the risk of humiliation by a fellow countryman... And when you are a diarist and pride yourself on your professionalism... You're really going to sit on your arris chomping on a bag of quaver's when you could be in the gym.

Froch is needy and lacks self confidence. He spouted all this contempt for groves, but deep down he was bricking it. Fear of losing is a motivator, fear of losing to someone you don't like, who's a domestic rival (when you're an international superstar) is a hell  of a motivator., regardless of whether you think you're better than them. Different kind of pressure when you're expected to win.

You make Froch sound like Marvin Hagler....

That he ain't..

If Groves had a better chin I'd pick him by shutout, Milkster

It's the khan thing truss.  When he gets tagged he fights back, which is exactly the wrong time to go to war. Its instinct, really hard to change. He did it it against Anderson and he did it against froch. Its admirable and great to watch, but its a potentially fatal flaw.

What I don't. Understand is the opinion that froch took groves to lightly and thought it would be easy? Really? Or could it be it was the same froch who beat kessler and bute but groves is just much better than him. The way people dismiss it was groves ability that caused problems is baffling! Tony bellow for one.

DAVE667 beat me too it; Froch is not one who 'take thing's easy' in training. Someone who is so meticulous with there recordings and logging simply does not cut corners, especially when the physical aspect of the fight game is something they have taken seriously for so long.

For me that is a simple excuse to throw out in order to defend what was at best an abject performance first time around.

There are 3 things about Froch which have and never will change:

1) He always takes training camps seriously, always has, always will.

2) He starts out slow 95% of the time, it's in his nature

3) He holds his left hand low

These are things that one simply does not stop doing. There all ingrained in him like second nature.

Now he may very well of been lacking psychologically heading into the first bout and given the way he dismissed Groves during the build up it points to him underestimating him. Yet, if you look at the evidence & his whole career, this is again something which you could never really accuse Froch of doing...so in that regard i'm hard pressed to believe he actually did.

I think he would have trained the way he always has and whilst he may not have been as up for it as say a Ward fight, I don't think he was as mentally off it on the night as some think. He could have perhaps thought it was going to be much like 'Bute' in that the guy he was facing was untested and Froch thought he could just turn up and steamroll him.

Now even if I was to take into account and believe that Froch was as massively under prepared as some suggest and wasn't 100% up for it, I look at the three 'traits' above and only one of them Froch can change and that's his training.

The only time he ever started quick was Bute and essentially that's because a) Bute was scared of getting hit & b) Bute allowed him to dictate the fight

Groves is the better equipped of the two to determine the pace, simply because he has a jab which is miles better than Carl's and it is solid enough to deter Froch from simply walking through him.

As for the left hand; well Rob can say as much as he likes that they are building to ensure he isn't hit as much but he isn't going to change the fact that Carl is a face first fighter...he takes one to land one. He can get him holding that left up at the start but as soon as it comes to throwing the jab, he will inevitable push it out and then leave the left low straight after...it's what he always does.

I think the fight definitely has that sense of being a 'passing of the torch' and whilst some will say Groves missed his opportunity last time out, I think the opposite in that I think last time has set him perfectly to finish the job now.

Carl is older and is showing signs of being shop worn...people forget that whilst he picked up the win against Kessler he was easier to hit than ever (that says alot)...tired more than he had for a long time in the latter stages and was rocked on a few occasions with shots that a couple of years ago he would have walked through.

Groves knows he has the power to hurt Froch; Carl know's it too. He has the superior boxing skills to keep Carl at bay with the jab and has a right hook that is perfect in terms of timing Carl on the way in. I don't think that the fact he threw the kitchen sink at Froch and couldn't get it done last time out will affect him in anyway. He is a fighter who is supremely confident in himself and I only think his first showing would breed more confidence.

I wasn't going to make a prediction until weigh in but given I have just come out with all of that I think I have to nail my colours to the Groves mast;

and I will do so with an 'out there' prediction like Boxxthis and say he gets the job done inside five rounds.

Can't wait for this one now; even if it ends early either way I don't think boxing can possibly lose out on this one. First 'Super-fight' feel boxing has had in this country since the early 90's and that can only be a good thing.

Thing is milky, it's fight or flight. And when your senses are rattled its human nature to do either or, in the cases you've mentioned their natural subconscious instinct is to fight. If Groves does get buzzed then he gets taken out as Froch will finish him.

Froch simply trying to bulldoze Groves and losing his senses for quite some time simply delayed the inevitable of Froch getting to him with a punch that detaches his senses. This time round George is going to jot knock him down badly and will have a serious issue when he gets caught inside the first 4 rounds and will then be finito'd off comprehensively.

Why can't the fight be tonight?! So pumped I may go choke the chicken to calm myself down

The thing with that thinking Milky and Izzi; it doesn't take into account that Groves wasn't even getting caught up until the 8th Round...from the 6th he was firmly in control of the contest and I think that success pushed him to being more aggressive than he needed to be...

If one is to ere on the side of caution with regards to Froch and not training properly, underestimating him and that being caught early was a factor in the following rounds...then surely you have to make compensations for Groves too in that his performance and success most likely deterred him from sticking to the game plan which had seen him box Carl's head off for the first 6...

To be fair Owen his face afterwards suggested he got peppered a load more than is general consensus. Froch had no legs after taking a shot that would knock out a cruiser, and didn't get them back for some time and then when he did got himself firmly back in the fight.

Big, big thing for me is that Groves can't fight at that pace for 12 rounds.. He just blows up. Fights at a slower pace and he then allows Froch to dictate some of the pace and then the writing is firmly on the wall to getting stopped.

Arghhh, so many niche reasons. Just want it on like donkey kong tonight, not another week!

You can train hard but still take somebody lightly ..

Complacency can mean not being switched on and alert as usual..

TRUSSMAN66 wrote:You can train hard but still take somebody lightly ..

Complacency can mean not being switched on and alert as usual..

I agree. But not if you hate the guy and want to splatter him. I suspect it was more likely he was too consumed with hate rather than taking it lightly.

Owen, agree that the early success potentially altered the fight and fight plan for both guys. I think groves is capable of staying out of trouble, merely saying my fears for him if and when he does get caught.

Some serious revision of history going on in this thread. None of us train with Froch so let's not make assumptions on his approach to the fight. Let's go on what we actually saw, Froch get knocked down after leaving his left low. This Owen Ozzy states is a hallmark of Froch's style. His hands weren't low due to lack of preparation or respect, that's just what he does.

Definetly feel Froch thought he had nothing in front of him when he fought Groves,Froch kept reiterating Groves wasn't in his class, which suggests he thought it was an easy nights work.

Froch would have been cold in the 1st round and got hit by a cracker of a punch,poor defence,walked onto the punch and Froch still gets up.
So Groves is going to do what nobody else has done in the whole of Froch's career knock him out,Froch's chin won't weaken overnight,so I feel wishful thinking by some on here.

For a fighter who supposedly lacks self confidence,Froch has lost 2 fights in 34 one close against Kessler(who he avenged) and outclassed by Ward,who he's been seeking a rematch with,Froch must have the wizard of OZ whispering in his ear when he goes out to fight.

Groves was getting tagged throughout the fight but he was landing so many more eye catching heavy shots you tend to overlook them. Groves has a lot of talent but unlike Froch doesn't have the resilience to go to war when he's hurt. The end of the sixth was pure stupidity, why when you've had your best round would you give your opponent heart by backing up to the ropes?

All he achieved in doing that was making Froch more confident in his toughness and stamina, he'd been on the receiving end of a beating but he was the one who ended up on the front foot.

Froch is always in perfect shape but preparation is as much in the mind as it is the body, these questions won't be answered til next saturday. Bute and Kessler hit just as hard as Groves but Froch went in to those fights knowing they could hurt him, he showed them a degree of respect he didn't show Groves.

I think it's wishful thinking to say Froch was caught cold due to poor preparation rather than a fundamental weakness in his make-up as a boxer. A weakness that has always been there despite not being highlighted as dramatically up until then.

Anyone assuming Froch is going to find his range with his jab, sit behind a water tight defence and outbox Groves is frankly daydreaming.

I'm backing Groves, I think he has the attributes to exploit Froch's weaknesses. I'm not saying this with any great conviction, we could see a repeat of the first fight but I'm just not having this 'a prepared Froch doesn't get hit' rubbish.

Dipper Brown wrote:I think it's wishful thinking to say Froch was caught cold due to poor preparation rather than a fundamental weakness in his make-up as a boxer. A weakness that has always been there despite not being highlighted as dramatically up until then.

Anyone assuming Froch is going to find his range with his jab, sit behind a water tight defence and outbox Groves is frankly daydreaming.

I'm backing Groves, I think he has the attributes to exploit Froch's weaknesses. I'm not saying this with any great conviction, we could see a repeat of the first fight but I'm just not having this 'a prepared Froch doesn't get hit' rubbish.

Froch throughout his career is a notoriously slow starter who works his way into the fight,which suggests he takes time to warm up.

It's a weakness that has always been highlighted, every man and his dog knows he holds his left hand low and the timing of the knockdown does shout out getting caught cold.

I don't think anybody is suggesting he's going to outbox Groves, it's not his style but what he will try to do is hustle him and make him feel uncomfortable, fighting at a pace that suits him not Groves.

You're jumping to conclusions that nobody has suggested, no one has said Froch doesn't get hit, he will but the key will be landing heavy shots that Groves can't take.