BoxRec

Just wondering what you guys across the pond think of this one? I know Groves was a highly touted amateur with very high hopes in the pro ranks. With just 8 fights under his belt he still has much to prove. With very few late rd fights this should be a pretty good test for him. He wants to do what Froch couldn't and that is to knock out Adamu. That could be his undoing. He should just be concerned about getting rds in the bank and let the ko come if it does. If he shoots his wad early, he could be holding on for dear life in the later rds. Appreciate any/all opinions.

Adamu looks to have slowed a shade to me and his footwork was never great, I think and expect that Groves will stop him, I realise many will disagree but the angles Groves will give Adamu early should mean he ships plenty and I could see him getting caught on the ropes and shipping punishment and the referee stepping in.

There is merit in what you are saying, we don't know how Groves will react if the fight goes into the last third and yes its possible he could be found wanting. I think he could be a great prospect, however, and am going for him to put on a bit of a show to be honest.

i think groves could well get the stoppage i cant see him running out of steam, he doesnt really rush in seems to pick his shots well and has power in both hands too, think he will stop him in bout 7 or 8.

Groves will not KO Adamu, but I can definately see an early ref stoppage, which tends to be the norm with our prospects. Once they get in a few decent shots and the opponent cover sup, they step in and put an end to it.

It is a good test for Groves as Adamu is a tough old soldier who can bang a bit as well. A lot depends on what Adamu brings in terms of desire and fitness. I feel if he is on top of his game and has the desire to win, he could pull a siuprise here in the late rounds.

Adamu really is a tough nut to crack.

I hope George don't blow a gasket trying to get him out of there but Adamu is a 12 round operator.

He should stick to looking a million dollars outboxing him. Adamu is rusty as hell and his better days are far behind, so it would be a really nice coming-out party for Groves to put on a pin sharp performance.

McCracken was giving him advice on it the other week in Sheffield.

Adamu is nails tough but is quite flat footed and very suceptible to being outboxed. I didn't see the Dilks fight so I can't comment on how much he has faded since the Froch fight but if he hasn't faded that much (and he shouldn't have - with only 21 figts in 9 years as a pro) I would think Groves on points is the most likely outcome. Also remember that since Groves has yet to go past eight rounds, he'll be sure to pace himself in the fight. I'll be quite surprised if he can stop this guy - and very impressed.

Can't see Adamu winning this unless Groves gasses alarmingly in the late rounds.

Adamu is a very tough fighter, but from what I have seen of Groves he picks his shots very well and his timing is great. If Adamu come out swinging like he did against Carl Dilks then I can possibly see a stoppage victory. But I really hope Groves doesn't come out at and rush for a stoppage, just let the fight go on and I am hopeful it will happen.

groves is a much better boxer than adamu and groves is a better boxer than froch (boxer yes....fighter no...)

adumu will be flat footed and swinging wildly, groves will pick him off at ease, but adamus wild swings will keep groves 'honest' ....

so..its either groves on points for me, or perhaps even a groves stoppage around round 8...

Romi wrote:Just wondering what you guys across the pond think of this one? I know Groves was a highly touted amateur with very high hopes in the pro ranks. With just 8 fights under his belt he still has much to prove. With very few late rd fights this should be a pretty good test for him. He wants to do what Froch couldn't and that is to knock out Adamu. That could be his undoing. He should just be concerned about getting rds in the bank and let the ko come if it does. If he shoots his wad early, he could be holding on for dear life in the later rds. Appreciate any/all opinions.

Groves should defintly win

Could prove a very tough one for Groves, he's not been near anyone as tough as Adamu, and you wonder how he's going to respond, when he's feeling the pace late in the fight, and the tough African keeps coming. Groves is still a novice really.

But you'd assume that the DH camp will have prepared him for a 12 rounder, and he may look to use the same tactics Mitchell used against Prescott. Don't get involved and pile up the points.
Though unlike Prescott, Adamu is no big puncher, so he'll be able to take a few more risks and hammer in his power shots, to see what Adamu's got left. Should be a good one.

forcefraser wrote:Groves will not KO Adamu, but I can definately see an early ref stoppage, which tends to be the norm with our prospects. Once they get in a few decent shots and the opponent cover sup, they step in and put an end to it.

It is a good test for Groves as Adamu is a tough old soldier who can bang a bit as well. A lot depends on what Adamu brings in terms of desire and fitness. I feel if he is on top of his game and has the desire to win, he could pull a siuprise here in the late rounds.

Guys, I don`t want to say I told you so.....but

Why does this always happen?? I am the first to admit that Groves fought well and was winning the fight by a mile. However, there is no way that Adammu was getting badly beaten up in there. He was a Comenwealth champion who had never been stopped in his career for christ sake. Groves is an 8 fight novice, therefore it is not beyond the realms of possibility that Adamu could have found a punch from somewhere in the last couple of rounds, unlikley, but certainly not impossible. Groves has never been 12 before, so we do not know how he would handle it.

Groves is a real talent. but he does leave himself very open to a counter. The referees always step in far too early in fights like that. Imagine Ali`s tactics against Foreman, he would have been stopped by the ref before he had chance to put his plan into action...

You could see from Adamu`s reaction that he was fine and it was a very poor stoppage in my opinion.

Great performance by Groves, he never let Adamu get started was on him and showed his full arsenal with an excellent performance

I thoguht Groves looked great in this fight...

Adamu is crude but Groves showed what talent he has by beating Adamu the way he did.

It was a poor stoppage imo, but Groves did look very very good last night. Very impressive.

forcefraser wrote:
Why does this always happen?? I am the first to admit that Groves fought well and was winning the fight by a mile. However, there is no way that Adammu was getting badly beaten up in there.

I dunno mate. Not sure how it came across on telly but from ringside Groves was hitting him at will, almost playing with him and Adamu couldn't land a glove on him. He was shipping some really meaty shots. It's a tricky one...because someone is capable of taking a lot more punishment, does that mean they should?

I thought the stoppage was justified - but I do understand the alternative view.

Ian 'Mr' McNeilly wrote:

forcefraser wrote:
Why does this always happen?? I am the first to admit that Groves fought well and was winning the fight by a mile. However, there is no way that Adammu was getting badly beaten up in there.

I dunno mate. Not sure how it came across on telly but from ringside Groves was hitting him at will, almost playing with him and Adamu couldn't land a glove on him. He was shipping some really meaty shots. It's a tricky one...because someone is capable of taking a lot more punishment, does that mean they should?

I thought the stoppage was justified - but I do understand the alternative view.

fraser/Ian: would you say it was the kind of stoppage you could accept from a corner more than from a referee?

cos to me it was like one of those fights where fighter B is pretty clearly going to lose, has little but heart and the willingness to absorb punishment to offer, and the only variable factor is how long the ref or corner are prepared to allow it to go on....?

And the African was the champion too, you gotta let him defend his title

I thought the stoppage was fair enough, Groves was beating him bad and nothing was coming back, fair decision imo

Counter-puncher wrote:

Ian 'Mr' McNeilly wrote:

forcefraser wrote:
Why does this always happen?? I am the first to admit that Groves fought well and was winning the fight by a mile. However, there is no way that Adammu was getting badly beaten up in there.

I dunno mate. Not sure how it came across on telly but from ringside Groves was hitting him at will, almost playing with him and Adamu couldn't land a glove on him. He was shipping some really meaty shots. It's a tricky one...because someone is capable of taking a lot more punishment, does that mean they should?

I thought the stoppage was justified - but I do understand the alternative view.

fraser/Ian: would you say it was the kind of stoppage you could accept from a corner more than from a referee?

cos to me it was like one of those fights where fighter B is pretty clearly going to lose, has little but heart and the willingness to absorb punishment to offer, and the only variable factor is how long the ref or corner are prepared to allow it to go on....?

Yeah, I suppose if the corner had stopped it then fair enough. After all, they know there man better than the ref.

I just feel that as a champion who has never been stoppped, Adamu was stopped too early by the ref. I don`t want to see a guy getting smashed to pieces for the sake of it, but I didn`t feel he was taking that bad of a hammering. Ian was at ringside, so fair enough, his opinion is that Adamu was taking too many hard shots and I have no problem with that.