BoxRec

groves stopped him in the 6th, havn't seen the fight yet

I met james degale on few occassions. Last time at lovebox in london I think he best groves.

Got chinned and wobbled early on but dominated after that from what sky showed.

chiggsy wrote:Got chinned and wobbled early on but dominated after that from what sky showed.

how badly?

HomeOfBritishBoxing wrote:

chiggsy wrote:Got chinned and wobbled early on but dominated after that from what sky showed.

how badly?

Bad enough considering the opponent.I also think his power isnt quite what some people think.He hit the bloke flush several times and never wobbled him once.And this guy had been knocked out three times by lighter opponents than Groves.He looks like an accident waiting to happen to me,a very British stoppage too...

mickey1975 wrote:

HomeOfBritishBoxing wrote:

chiggsy wrote:Got chinned and wobbled early on but dominated after that from what sky showed.

how badly?

Bad enough considering the opponent.I also think his power isnt quite what some people think.He hit the bloke flush several times and never wobbled him once.And this guy had been knocked out three times by lighter opponents than Groves.He looks like an accident waiting to happen to me,a very British stoppage too...

On the flip-side it sounds like a really good learning fight for him.

chiggsy wrote:Got chinned and wobbled early on but dominated after that from what sky showed.

Neally went

Deserter wrote:

mickey1975 wrote:

HomeOfBritishBoxing wrote: how badly?

Bad enough considering the opponent.I also think his power isnt quite what some people think.He hit the bloke flush several times and never wobbled him once.And this guy had been knocked out three times by lighter opponents than Groves.He looks like an accident waiting to happen to me,a very British stoppage too...

On the flip-side it sounds like a really good learning fight for him.

Definately a good learining fight for him but strangely for me posed more questions than answers and I have always been a big fan of Groves and thought his potential was huge. The shot that hurt him was high on the head and just for about a second I thought he was going to go, he definately had a reaction to it and the guy is not a big puncher. If it was the fact that it was a temple shot that caught him out then that would kind of worry me. He was open at times, we can put that down to nerves and the big stage and eagerness to get his own shots off but perhaps a lot of the people that say his defence is somewhat leaky have a point.

Powerwise he may not have what I once thought, he never really troubled Contreras and despite being on top for most of the fight the stoppage was a strange one.

Personally always thought he would beat Degale, not so sure now.

Don't like being harsh on our prospects but the more I think about it the less I was impressed with George last night, he did the job but we have to not big up Contreras, he is an average journeyman and little else.

Hopefully though Groves can improve for the experience and his next fight against Dilks will be important in terms of how he looks and whether he has improved his defence.

I don't really think that fighting in the "Haye" style suits him. It seems a bit forced, does anyone know if he fought like this as an ama?

He boxed in an uptight fashion last night, he looked very tense. I feel boxing on a big Vegas card got to him in a way. The way he tried to land his shots at times was very erratic, and he looked a bit flappy and a bit too rushed.

As for his iffy defence, well, it didn't surprise me when he got rocked a bit early on. I've seen Groves fight in person a few times, and he carries his left hand far too low. It's something he really needs to work on, as his style and the way he attacks will always leave him open to flush shots.

As a big Groves fan, I learnt very little about lhim ast night. I just hope the shot he took in the first round will make him really tighten up on the defensive front.

GLOBALBOX wrote: Definately a good learining fight for him but strangely for me posed more questions than answers and I have always been a big fan of Groves and thought his potential was huge. The shot that hurt him was high on the head and just for about a second I thought he was going to go, he definately had a reaction to it and the guy is not a big puncher. If it was the fact that it was a temple shot that caught him out then that would kind of worry me. He was open at times, we can put that down to nerves and the big stage and eagerness to get his own shots off but perhaps a lot of the people that say his defence is somewhat leaky have a point.
Powerwise he may not have what I once thought, he never really troubled Contreras and despite being on top for most of the fight the stoppage was a strange one.
Personally always thought he would beat Degale, not so sure now.
Don't like being harsh on our prospects but the more I think about it the less I was impressed with George last night, he did the job but we have to not big up Contreras, he is an average journeyman and little else.
Hopefully though Groves can improve for the experience and his next fight against Dilks will be important in terms of how he looks and whether he has improved his defence.

Thanks. I haven't seen the fight so it's really good to get such informed feedback

Glad to see everyone is not being ridiculously harsh on this young talent learning his trade in the pro ranks.... !

G0mez wrote:Glad to see everyone is not being ridiculously harsh on this young talent learning his trade in the pro ranks.... !

That would be a lot fairer comment if he wasnt the Commonwealth champ and saying he wants the British and European in around 6 months.He cant have it both ways.

mickey1975 wrote:

G0mez wrote:Glad to see everyone is not being ridiculously harsh on this young talent learning his trade in the pro ranks.... !

That would be a lot fairer comment if he wasnt the Commonwealth champ and saying he wants the British and European in around 6 months.He cant have it both ways.

X 2


Theres no rush, Dont think he is ready for the Smiths,and Andersons on that performance,he boxed a very poor journeyman My thoughts

Contreras is a good marker, look who he's been in with:
McEwan, Demers, Anthony Dirrell and Lemiuex....not bad

bigdaddy wrote:Dont think he is ready for the Smiths,and Andersons on that performance,he boxed a very poor journeyman My thoughts

I'd still be very confident of Groves being able to do the buisness against nearly all of our SMW's, excluding Froch and maybe Brian Magee.

It's all a learning curve for him, and I can see his team testing him at higher levels much earlier than other promoters would, which for me is only right. Groves has all the tools in his game to be able to put the likes of Smith, Quigley and Dilks etc to the sword.

One only 'average' victory, on the biggest card he's ever fought on, in Las Vegas, doesn't change the way I rate him.

he got caught on the top of the head after missing with two shot's & wasnt in the best position balance wise & he dipped but was in no real trouble, he's lucky the guy wasnt a puncher. if you believe mayweather was hurt when hatton staggerd him you'll prob think groves was.
the stoppage wasnt really warranted at all & groves far from impressive as he showed many chinks in his armour, hopefully he draws alot from this fight as his style is based on ego confidence & not being himself. i think if you look at froch many brit fan's never liked his style or rated it & many would say he's unique & class but since he's been in at world level knowbody's been calling him classy.

FIGHTFANs wrote:

chiggsy wrote:Got chinned and wobbled early on but dominated after that from what sky showed.

Neally went

every report i have seen about the fight said he wasn't wobbled but off balance.

HomeOfBritishBoxing wrote:

FIGHTFANs wrote:

chiggsy wrote:Got chinned and wobbled early on but dominated after that from what sky showed.

Neally went

every report i have seen about the fight said he wasn't wobbled but off balance.

Bit of both i think.

At the end of the day, the likes of Andre Dirrell were dropped like a sack of spuds and saved by the bell in their first handful of fights. Now people cannot lay a glove on him.

George pulled a funny face, but found his stride and got the win. He wasn't sparked out or touching down, cut up or anything daft.

dirrel wasnt dropped in his first fights.

Venue was empty should never of been stopped

hurlock wrote:dirrel wasnt dropped in his first fights.

Oh yes he did mate. Badly too.

bigdaddy wrote:Venue was empty should never of been stopped

Shouldn't have been stopped because the Venue was empty thats a new one

Anyone got a link to the bit where he's either hurt, or off balance? I hope it was the latter, as you wouldn't expect a big prospect like Groves to be troubled at this level. Getting caught is ok when you're learning, as you can fix that, we just don't want to see any spinning eye balls at this stage.

G0mez wrote:

hurlock wrote:dirrel wasnt dropped in his first fights.

Oh yes he did mate. Badly too.

I think it was Oganov who dropped him quite heavily but it wasn't in his early fights and Im pretty sure Oganov was an undefeated puncher BUT I could be wrong there??

I watched Groves and thought it was a decent performance but I also seen that he still needs work in the gym, I've said this time and time again.. WHY rush him?? if this kid get's rushed he's gonna get beat and not just beat but beat really badly!! He has tons of confidence and if he get's flattened cos he get's rushed it'll be a shame cos the kid could make himself a lot of money down the road if he keps looking good and winning, His rivalry with Degale will see him make a lot of money BUT if he get's knocked out in the build up to such an event it'll ruin him and take all hs confidence away. Let it be known I rate Groves I really do BUT he is not ready for the likes of Smith and Magee.. Paul Smith is a hardened pro with bags of experience.. You can't buy the lads experience, I just hope Booth looks at last night and thinks to himself let's just get him some decent fighters and top sparring for the next 12 months.. imo that would serve Groves better but eh that's just my opinion..