BoxRec

I have heard this is happening. Heard it on Twitter so not exactly the most solid of sources. Hoping others have info

Seen a few tweets about this. It'd be a good fight but hope it doesn't happen as it really devalues the whole tournament. 99.9% of boxing fans would prefer to wait until Groves is ready.

Bad move by the Sauerlands if they don't give Groves time to recover (unless he needs like 6 months). They've waited for Usyk.

i dont like it at all, unless groves needs way too much time

if smith wins he will have beaten skoglund, a super late notice kickboxer, and a guy who got 9-3'd in the semis. hardly division moving stuff like the wbss should have

the smw tournament was flawed from the go and this would make its credibility even lower

Groves said he will be ready for July though..

Ruthless-RKO wrote: ↑08 May 2018, 15:06 Groves said he will be ready for July though..

July is a tough sell though , World Cup , Wimbledon, school holidays ! All eat into revenue streams !

They definitely should wait for Groves and do it in September when the market is better .

Anyone seen any news on Usyk v Gassiev ??

Aren't the Sauerlands George's promoters? I think Kalle might be somewhat of a front man for the WBSS rather than running the show completely, but you'd have to worry about that working relationship if they bin Groves off for someone he's just beaten comfortably.

What's the prize money for the winner? Can't imagine George would be happy about missing out on that as well as obviously wanting to win the tournament itself anyway.

Is this true? Is there any more reliable sources than just a few people saying on Twitter?

If true, absurd decision.

Comosa AG chief boxing officer Kalle Sauerland has said the following:

“You will find out about the finals in the next 10 days, but there is a possibility that we will have to bring in a replacement.

“We're working at the moment on all the solutions and scenarios, where George [Groves] is fit and where he isn't.

“We’re hopeful [Groves will be fit], so we’ll see. You can’t start the tournament and then have the final lingering into the next tournament. I’m sorry, that’s not going to happen.”

There have been rumours swirling around of late that the aforementioned Eubank Jr. could replace Groves, should he be ruled out of the showpiece for the first season's super-middleweight tournament.

And Sauerland conceded to Boxing News that there is a very real possibility that the former IBO champion at the weight could come in for the Hammersmith man and fight 'Mundo', the current WBC Diamond champion.

"Would I want to watch Callum Smith-Eubank Jr outside of the tournament? Absolutely. It’s a great fight. So having him in as a lucky loser would make sense.”

“We can push a month, but we can’t push it back by three or four months. We have a substitute system. We said that from day one, and that’s the situation. We’re still hoping it’s George Groves, of course we are.

“We want Groves in the final, but if that’s not possible and he doesn't declare himself fit in the next 10 days, we have to find a solution.”

jamamb wrote: ↑08 May 2018, 14:54 i dont like it at all, unless groves needs way too much time

They said they'd push it to July. Final was supposed to be June. They don't want to push it back by 2-3 months. By that time, the new tournament would have had its draft etc. Kalle said he doesn't want preps for the new tournaments to start with this still outstanding. Then again, they need to sort out the Cruiserweight final too.

Kalle explains the situation here. We should know in a week or two

It'll be criminal if Groves doesn't make the final, he earned it

Nightmare Roy wrote: ↑09 May 2018, 12:30 It'll be criminal if Groves doesn't make the final, he earned it

As Kalle explained, the final has to be within a certain time frame. If Groves isn't ready then he can fight when he is.

Taansend wrote: ↑09 May 2018, 12:42

Nightmare Roy wrote: ↑09 May 2018, 12:30 It'll be criminal if Groves doesn't make the final, he earned it

As Kalle explained, the final has to be within a certain time frame. If Groves isn't ready then he can fight when he is.

I understand, I'd just be gutted for him.

Nightmare Roy wrote: ↑09 May 2018, 13:18

Taansend wrote: ↑09 May 2018, 12:42

Nightmare Roy wrote: ↑09 May 2018, 12:30 It'll be criminal if Groves doesn't make the final, he earned it

As Kalle explained, the final has to be within a certain time frame. If Groves isn't ready then he can fight when he is.

I understand, I'd just be gutted for him.

He'll still get to fight the winner.

If this is the case it's absolutely criminal! Had half an idea something like this was gonna go down.

It would certainly be an anti climax. Does that mean that none of the world titles will be on the line either? Only the trophy and the prize money?

I can see Groves going in another direction completely. Maybe a Degale rematch?

ewenhay wrote: ↑09 May 2018, 14:02 It would certainly be an anti climax. Does that mean that none of the world titles will be on the line either? Only the trophy and the prize money?

I can see Groves going in another direction completely. Maybe a Degale rematch?

WBC Diamond belt.. Which is like being mandatory challenger for Benavidez..

Groves is promoted by the Sauerlands. I'm sure he understands. It's a shame but i'm sure they'd sort him out with a fight with the winner. Whether that be Eubank again. It would be another ITV box office. Would get him similar purse. Hopefully. I would also rather the cruiserweight and super mids tournaments finish by time we have the drafts for the new tourneys.

Ruthless-RKO wrote: ↑09 May 2018, 14:06

ewenhay wrote: ↑09 May 2018, 14:02 It would certainly be an anti climax. Does that mean that none of the world titles will be on the line either? Only the trophy and the prize money?

I can see Groves going in another direction completely. Maybe a Degale rematch?

WBC Diamond belt.. Which is like being mandatory challenger for Benavidez..

Groves is promoted by the Sauerlands. I'm sure he understands. It's a shame but i'm sure they'd sort him out with a fight with the winner. Whether that be Eubank again. It would be another ITV box office. Would get him similar purse. Hopefully. I would also rather the cruiserweight and super mids tournaments finish by time we have the drafts for the new tourneys.

There's no incentive for Groves to fight the winner really though unless the winner is made mandatory for one of his belts. I think Groves only has 2 or 3 fights left and might be more inclined to try and unify at this stage. Groves v Degale would be ppv and would make more than a rematch against Eubank or a fight with Smith I would have thought

I don't at all like the idea of Groves not being in the final but, that shoulder could realistically be between OK now and never adequately healed. Punters vs financial obligations- that's the shit storm of doing anything interesting on a noticeably broad scale these days.

ewenhay wrote: ↑09 May 2018, 14:09

Ruthless-RKO wrote: ↑09 May 2018, 14:06

ewenhay wrote: ↑09 May 2018, 14:02 It would certainly be an anti climax. Does that mean that none of the world titles will be on the line either? Only the trophy and the prize money?

I can see Groves going in another direction completely. Maybe a Degale rematch?

WBC Diamond belt.. Which is like being mandatory challenger for Benavidez..

Groves is promoted by the Sauerlands. I'm sure he understands. It's a shame but i'm sure they'd sort him out with a fight with the winner. Whether that be Eubank again. It would be another ITV box office. Would get him similar purse. Hopefully. I would also rather the cruiserweight and super mids tournaments finish by time we have the drafts for the new tourneys.

There's no incentive for Groves to fight the winner really though unless the winner is made mandatory for one of his belts. I think Groves only has 2 or 3 fights left and might be more inclined to try and unify at this stage. Groves v Degale would be ppv and would make more than a rematch against Eubank or a fight with Smith I would have thought

I agree with there being no point doing a Groves-Eubank again. But Groves vs. Smith is still a good domestic fight.

But yeh, where you said he doesn't have much fights left, he may likely look to other potential fights. DeGale fight isn't as big as it could have been due to his loss to Truax, although he has regained his belt.

Ruthless-RKO wrote: ↑09 May 2018, 14:25I agree with there being no point doing a Groves-Eubank again. But Groves vs. Smith is still a good domestic fight.

But yeh, where you said he doesn't have much fights left, he may likely look to other potential fights. DeGale fight isn't as big as it could have been due to his loss to Truax, although he has regained his belt.

I'm not really sure there is that much interest in a Groves DeGale rematch. DeGale has spent the last few years fighting in the middle of the night (for a UK audience), in a few obscure fights, and his one domestic outing was a farce.

Groves is well known thanks to the Froch fights and his recent resurgence. Smith did very good numbers on ITV and was doing well in terms of profile on Sky - certainly more than DeGale would have been doing hidden away on BN in the small hours. I think you could almost sell Groves Smith as a version of Froch Groves, with George taking the role of the experienced operator and Smith being put into something of an acid test.

Eubank Smith will be a better fight than Groves Smith would have been. Groves would have just outboxed Smith and possibly KO'd him. Here we have a head on collision. Eubank is going to come for Smith and Smith doesn't really know how to fight any other way than come forward. They aint taking a step back. Should be fireworks while it lasts.

this is the major drawback of the tournament format.

Get well soon George
Smith Eubank is not a final. Especially when Groves shut Eubank down in the semi final..