World Boxing Super Series semi-finalists, George Groves and Chris Eubank Jr, collide at Manchester’s MEN arena this Saturday night in a high stakes match-up.
Groves puts his WBA crown on the line, as both men look to advance in the tournament to challenge for the coveted Muhammad Ali trophy against either Callum Smith or Juergen Braehmer in the final.
It rarely gets better than two elite Brits fighting for a proper belt (WBA Super) in a finely balanced clash of exciting styles and controversial personalities.
Both men clinically stopped their quarterfinal opponents, extending their respective knockout records to 20 KO’s each – so where do you put your money?
This fight of fine margins could hinge on the answers to the following five questions.
1. How good is Chris Eubank Jr?
What @StGeorgeGroves will be experiencing 7 days from today #NEXTGENhttps://t.co/VQ90wC07B9pic.twitter.com/uWAHwxUZSB
— Chris Eubank Jr (@ChrisEubankJr) February 10, 2018
The Brighton man’s best nights ended in savagely dispatching quarterfinal opponent Avni Yildrim and outpointing a faded Arthur Abraham. We’ve seen the speed, volume punching and ruthless finishing, but question marks remain over his defence, chin and ability to adapt at the elite level.
2. What Does Groves have left?
Carl Froch, Badou Jack, Fedor Chudinov, Martin Murray all put miles on Groves’s clock. Conversely, in 27 fights, Eubank avoided going to the trenches.
If the going gets tough, particularly on the home straight, the Londoner’s penchant for going to war could give the edge to the fresher man with a relentless engine.
3. Is Eubank Jr too small?
Campaigning at 168lbs for most of his career, Groves is a legitimate super middleweight and the naturally bigger man. We do not know whether Eubank, a middleweight, can impose himself physically on a strong, elite super middleweight.
4. Can Eubank close the Range?
Groves’s world-class jab spells trouble for the Brighton man. Whether Eubank can bully himself into range, push back the bigger man, and put his shots together on the inside remains to be seen.
5. Will their corners come into play?
The man from Hammersmith’s bond with trainer Shane McGuigan is born out of mutual respect and understanding. Under McGuigan Groves put to bed demons of three world title defeats, finally capturing his first crown. Groves trusts his corner implicitly.
Eubank claimed earlier this year that he does not need a trainer, he told the Mail Online: “I don’t need somebody to push me or tell me what to do… I know what to do now, after years of training and learning what your body does. The main thing is sparring.”
Eubank didn’t show up for the first half of his only defeat inflicted by Billy Joe Saunders. He rallied too late to make up the early deficit and lost on points. Tactical advice from the corner could factor in this mouthwatering affair.
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