What actually makes Groves v Froch the biggest of all time ?

[jessi]

As far as British goes anyway !

I know Benn v Eubank was massive and the hatred between them made it even better, but I remember Lewis v Bruno even bigger, everyone at the time and I mean everyone was talking about it, although the hatred wasn't even there !

Groves v Froch ll seems to have everything IMO,great warriors, styles, genuine dislike to one another, rematch, controversial unfinished business, yet with all the recent ppv fights over the years do the British public really know either of them ?
Eddie hearn says he wants to break all records for this fight, and I actually think it will, but does that mean it's the biggest if it's tucked away on sky box office ?

How do we measure it these days

[daviddee]

I think it's the most talked about.. The more people that talk the higher all the rest of the options will be.. This fight is huge especially because of the controversial ending.

[jessi]

I think it's the most talked about.. The more people that talk the higher all the rest of the options will be.. This fight is huge especially because of the controversial ending.

I agree but just talking is hard to measure

[lillywhite14]

I remember as a kid Benn-Eubank II was being talked about by everyone. Mums of my mates knew it was on, teachers, my nan etc, everyone.

Froch-Groves II won't be the same, despite what Eddie says.

[orbtastic]

Definitely won't be the biggest UK attendance.

I'm not sure this sort of fight breaks into the non boxing fan's conscience.

It was shown on a platform that very few people actually saw, the papers didn't really cover it too much. A few non boxing fans sports "talked" about it in the wake of the controversial stoppage but it transpires the majority of them didn't even see it. Social media trending spiked yesterday but it'll soon be forgotten about and has already been overtaken by Cliff Richard, Tom Jones and Valentine's, so that kinda sums it up.

[Autobarn]

I remember as a kid Benn-Eubank II was being talked about by everyone. Mums of my mates knew it was on, teachers, my nan etc, everyone.

Froch-Groves II won't be the same, despite what Eddie says.

wasn't eubank-benn 2 also the most watched fight internationally, that year?

shame the fight didn't deliver, benn adjusting from the first fight and eubank showing no improvement whatsoever.

[Tuan_Jim]

It's just the same old transparent hoopla.

Everyone knew who Eubank and Bruno and Benn were. Lewis less so (boxed generally on Sky, no personality)

This fight... no one knows who either guy is. Very few people really have ever seen Groves. I would expect even with inflation it will fall short of those fights, particularly Benn/Eubank 2 and Benn/McClellan which were in the region of 15-20 million viewers.

[MarkMcBurney]

I remember as a kid Benn-Eubank II was being talked about by everyone. Mums of my mates knew it was on, teachers, my nan etc, everyone.

Froch-Groves II won't be the same, despite what Eddie says.

You don't think it will get an attendance of 55,000? I do.

[ttornado]

Biggest post-war attendance is the criteria being used. So not really biggest of all time.

[Tuan_Jim]

I remember as a kid Benn-Eubank II was being talked about by everyone. Mums of my mates knew it was on, teachers, my nan etc, everyone.

Froch-Groves II won't be the same, despite what Eddie says.

You're exactly right. Everyone knew Benn/Eubank II. It's bizarre to think how big a boxing fight was, given the sport's sad but predictable decline since then.

Froch/Groves won't have the attendance & very few people will see it.

[Autobarn]

expecting big PPV sales as well?

they can really hype this one up, the brutal last fight, the controversy, the dislike, what happened last time, what'll happen this time, howard foster death threats.

we're going to have this rammed down our throats - hopefully the fight lives up. wonder if groves will go safety first? wonder if it'll get nasty and out of control? if froch will bring something technically, this time; if he'll actually be prepared for what his opponent's going to do. if groves will try and force a stoppage, if froch can keep taking those shots, if groves can learn how to hold on...

[JimStone]

I can say with absolute certainty that in terms of general awareness and interest, this one will barely scratch the surface compared to Eubank vs Benn and Lewis vs Bruno. People younger than 30 probably can't remember how big those fights were in the eyes of the general public. I'm too young to remember what it was like for the big fights in the 60's.

[TopGun]

It's big because George is the best British fighter we have and Carl's chin loves to get hit. Styles make fights and these guys make a great fight!

[Datsue]

I can say with absolute certainty that in terms of general awareness and interest, this one will barely scratch the surface compared to Eubank vs Benn and Lewis vs Bruno. People younger than 30 probably can't remember how big those fights were in the eyes of the general public. I'm too young to remember what it was like for the big fights in the 60's.

Sad thing is that there's probably some people over 30 gullible/easily swayed enough that they just accept this sort of bone-headed "BIGGEST FIGHT EVAH!" soundbite without any reflection or thought.

@the original poster: I'd measure it by actual cultural impact. Benn vs Eubank & Lewis vs Bruno was on the nightly news; people talked about them down the pub & had followed their careers. They had crossover appeal, for want of a better word & I can't really think of a British fighter today with that level of public visibility. TV specials on proper channels devoted to the build-up. That sort of thing.

You got a genuine sense that people in general knew who they were, rather than being described as the "Ginger lad with the dodgy tattoos & the miserable Northern one with the hot missus".

[Cholo_cws]

Last week on Talksport Bunce was saying that "Fury-Chisora II will be bigger than Froch-Groves...Trust me. No word of a lie. Let me tell ya" etc etc.

Rather bizarre or more likely just being a loyal servant to his paymaster.

Either way, Froch-Groves might be a huge fight for most boxing fans (although I'm not quite 'getting' it) and will guarantee a big attendance but I just can't see how it grabs the attention of the same non-boxing/sports fans that Benn-Eubank did.

[Old Jack J]

I'm not sure it is anywhere near 'the biggest fight' to non boxing fans. To us its a big exciting occasion.

It is as simple as the others being on ITV and therefore a heck of a lot more accessible to the free to view audience. There was also only 4 terrestrial channels which meant the viewing figures were sky high. Unfortunately, PPV and specialist channels have narrowed that potential to the point where the average man in the street only has a very casual interest in the sport.

IMO the above factors ensure that, although the stadium will be a sell out, this fight will not go down as the most 'well known' of fights. It won't rival the old terrestial 'benn vs eubank' era. Moreover, i'm not sure anything will again, which is a little worrying for the sport.

[JimStone]

To be fair, if you're looking to sell a PPV and you're hoping for a positive return, you've got to promote hard, so I'm not knocking anybody for their claims on that front.

But in terms of actual eyes on the event, it won't be as big as Fury vs Steve Cunningham, or even Fury vs Maddalone or even Kid Galahad vs Jason Booth. It won't be within a country mile of Fury vs Chisora I but Fury vs Chisora 2 won't be either.

[jtourettes]

I don't think it'll be as big a sevents others have mentioned but the last fight did actually cross over into the mainstream a bit, had plenty of not normally into boxing friends talking about and plenty of FB friends offering their opinion on the stoppage. Pub I watched it in was rammed and I can only see the second event doing even better, crossing into the mainstream even more.

[Chris W 1982]

If it's on Sky PPV then it automatically becomes the biggest fight in British boxing history.

Everyone knows that.

[expe]

It isn't the biggest of the last 2, 5 or 10 years.

[jessi]

If it's on Sky PPV then it automatically becomes the biggest fight in British boxing history.

Everyone knows that.

Well I'm yet to hear anybody moan it's on ppv, that tells me it's pretty good as most people moan about ppv quality

[jessi]

It isn't the biggest of the last 2, 5 or 10 years.

What in the uk ? Enlighten me

[SaadOffTheDeck]

I can say with absolute certainty that in terms of general awareness and interest, this one will barely scratch the surface compared to Eubank vs Benn and Lewis vs Bruno. People younger than 30 probably can't remember how big those fights were in the eyes of the general public. I'm too young to remember what it was like for the big fights in the 60's.

Sad thing is that there's probably some people over 30 gullible/easily swayed enough that they just accept this sort of bone-headed "BIGGEST FIGHT EVAH!" soundbite without any reflection or thought.

@the original poster: I'd measure it by actual cultural impact. Benn vs Eubank & Lewis vs Bruno was on the nightly news; people talked about them down the pub & had followed their careers. They had crossover appeal, for want of a better word & I can't really think of a British fighter today with that level of public visibility. TV specials on proper channels devoted to the build-up. That sort of thing.

You got a genuine sense that people in general knew who they were, rather than being described as the "Ginger lad with the dodgy tattoos & the miserable Northern one with the hot missus".

It's the same in the states. People try and justify Gatti's HOF induction with his popularity when 10 times as many people knew and watched Boza-Edwards fight in the 80's.

[JayMc]

It isn't the biggest of the last 2, 5 or 10 years.

What in the uk ? Enlighten me

Haye v Harrison apparently done in the region of 800k ppv buys. I doubt Froch v Groves 1 got anywhere even close to that as no official figures were released. I don't see Froch v Groves 2 doing more than that either.

[Ezzard]

Boxing needs to be back on the BBC. They built up fighters that your grandma would love.