George Groves to fight Paul Smith

[dondada]

http://news.boxrec.com/news/2011/george ... paul-smith

[whiskey]

What a crock.

Smith has been served up to one and now will be served up to the other.

[Josh1111]

What a crock.

Smith has been served up to one and now will be served up to the other.

I think this will be a closer fight than you think. Smigga might not be liked and might have been schooled by De Gale, but he's no mug. New trainer now too, dont write him off

[whiskey]

I think this will be a closer fight than you think. Smigga might not be liked and might have been schooled by De Gale, but he's no mug. New trainer now too, dont write him off

Being liked has zero to do with anything. For the record I like Smith and admire his tenacity.

But he has already been (bravely) stopped by Degale who didn't really have to go through many gears to win.

And also he has conceded himself he needs to head back to middleweight as he is not big enough to compete at 168lb.

I appreciate it would be a nice fight for Smith, perhaps even a nice payday - but in the scheme of things, this is exactly the type of turd match-up that I feared when Groves signed.

[whiskey]

This fight would have made perfect sense prior to the Degale fight. It would have been a solid indicator of where Groves and Degales compared against each other.

But to make this fight AFTER groves vs degale makes no sense. Paul in my opinion deserves better than being the fall guy.

[15829]

Smith won't be going in there as a fall guy he'll be going there to win

[stevek3lly]

This is a big shock. All the talk was Smigga fighting down at Middle and going for titles there, now he is back in for the British super title.

I don't think Groves will have it all too easy, I know a lot will write Smigga off straight away, but he stands a chance. Still hard to fathom this fight out though.

[stujones]

I agree with the post that this could be closer than people think - however, I do think there are opportunities at Middleweight on the horizon and Smith should focus on these. Murray has lots of titles now, I can see him vacating some of these.

I still think that Degale is the more talented natural athlete than Groves and it was the athleticism of Degale that beat Smith. Kenny Anderson isn't as fast as Degale but he could still tag Groves, so I give Smith a chance, but I favour Groves - Smith is a middleweight.

[phil5555]

Smith won't be going in there as a fall guy he'll be going there to win

Agree paul is no mug and he can punch,Thought Kenny Anderson was lined up for Groves

[stevek3lly]

Smith won't be going in there as a fall guy he'll be going there to win

Agree paul is no mug and he can punch,Thought Kenny Anderson was lined up for Groves

Its a shame Kenny hasn't got another shot, I think he deserved one. But boxing can be a funny old game.

[Wrists]

Whilst Groves is the favourite and Smigga is essentially a middleweight its an insult to both to call this a 'turd fight'

Its a decent first defence for Groves

[sweetscience]

i think its a good fight..... looking forward to it

[Lenny]

British Champion fights former Champ in his first defence - OUTRAGEOUS

Agree with those who are disappointed not to see Smith at middleweight but you gotta go where the opportunities are

[JamesH]

I don't think Groves is as good as De Gale, and don't think he'll win as comfortably either.

As for the matchup, I don't think it's too out of the ordinary. De Gale lost a belt and is to challenge for another, Groves won a belt and will defend them both against a former champ who had a couple of successful defences. Good for De Gale, and good for Groves. I had thought Smith was to campaign in a lower division, but if for whatever reason he has decided not to, than he gets a shot at the British and Commonwealth title, so he wins too.

[Crease]

A good test for Groves, provided this is for both of his titles... George needs to stay active, Smith should pose some problems.
But I'd expect Groves to win this convincingly.

[The Main Event Show]

be a great fight this Steve Lillis predicted this cpl weeks back

[The_Don1]

Groves wins, in the post-fight interview Smith admits that it was too good an opportunity to turn down, but he's just not big enough for SMW and will re-focus on his MW career, aiming for the British title first. Call me Mystic Meg.

[Captain Hook]

Smith will have more success v Groves than he did vs DeGale, but GG should still emerge triumphant in decent fashion, probably by 4/5 rounds.

[Lloydy]

I think this is a good fight. Groves hasn't got the technical skills of De Gale and that is what bamboozled Smith in the first fight.
This could be a great fight imo as Smith has a real chance to redeem himself and is a tenacious fighter with a new trainer - he just needs to be more educated with his attacks instead of just pilling forward hoping to land the killer blow. IMO he needs to attack Groves' body, slow him down because once you do that, everyone knows Groves is easy to hit..........good fight!

[Hook1]

I think this is a good fight. Groves hasn't got the technical skills of De Gale and that is what bamboozled Smith in the first fight.
This could be a great fight imo as Smith has a real chance to redeem himself and is a tenacious fighter with a new trainer - he just needs to be more educated with his attacks instead of just pilling forward hoping to land the killer blow. IMO he needs to attack Groves' body, slow him down because once you do that, everyone knows Groves is easy to hit..........good fight!

It was de-gale's speed/work rate that got him the win,not his technical ability. GG proved that his he is more the technical and strategic fighter when he faced de-gale, who imo ran out of ideas v quick.

Bit disappointed with this match up to be honest as groves should be looking for a bit more of a challenge so he can widen his experience. But as someone else already said on here, it's about smith's ticket selling ability, additionally it will be a low risk pay day for GG so i can see why both fighters are happy to do it.

[oliverfennell]

As a sporting contest, the fight in itself is OK, but this is a clear indication of how in boxing a loss can do you favours and a win gets you nowhere. After their fight, loser DeGale is heading for a European title shot, while winner Groves has to content himself with someone who's already been thrashed by a man he's beaten.

[Tko1980]

Said on sky sports interview about tonight's fight he is concentrating on middle weight division.

[whiskey]

Said on sky sports interview about tonight's fight he is concentrating on middle weight division.

Im glad, it's a pay day he'll miss out on but he needs to think about himself, than being "an opponent" for Groves.

He can do well at middleweight where he belongs.