The 36 year-old, who has claimed four recognised titles and fought the best around throughout his career, takes on the flashy unbeaten upstart this Saturday night at the Phones 4U Arena in Manchester.
Even before Froch v Groves was announced, the challenger was calling on the champion to give him a chance despite his lack of experience and even switched from Frank Warren to Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom stable to make sure the fight was sealed.
Some of Groves’ actions during the run-up have crossed the line from arrogance to a total lack of acknowledgement of the achievements of ‘The Cobra’ and certainly put the Londoner in the villainous category for this fight.
Having never been in that position before and always been gracious and well-mannered, you can be assured that this is a deliberate tactic by Groves to make Froch come looking for him in the ring, with ‘The Saint’ certain to get his wish come fight night.
Groves is a highly-talented boxer and I have no doubt he will win a world title, but at this moment in time there is a gulf between the two in regards to all-round star quality and I simply can’t make a case for Froch to lose for a third time in 34 bouts this weekend.
In my view, the biggest weapon in Groves arsenal beforehand was probably the tactics employed by his trainer Adam Booth, who nursed him perfectly through fights with James DeGale and Paul Smith, and losing his services could be costly for the former British champion.
Nothing against Paddy Fitzpatrick, who has earned his place in the sport through grit and determination, but Groves is in deep and I can see a stoppage on the cards if Froch can keep the red mist to a minimum and focus solely on picking his punches.
Froch is on top of his game right now after dismantling Lucian Bute and redeeming his loss to Mikkel Kessler, and I fully expect the unified title holder to set up a rematch with Andre Ward and end the run of yet another undefeated contender on Sky Sports Box Office in two days time.
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