Lucas Roehrig: George Groves tries to break me mentally - so I can really flourish now | 'He's going to be exceptional'

Lucas Roehrig, the protege of elite world champion George Groves, is ready to make his mark.

Roehrig is a richly talented cruiserweight prospect. On Saturday, in his 10th pro fight, live on Sky Sports he takes on Scottish champion Connal McDonald.

For Roehrig this fight is a key step in his career and he wants to make it a breakthrough win.

"I'm looking forward to making a statement," the 23-year-old told Sky Sports. "It's about an A-class performance and really putting on a show."

He is though expecting McDonald to be a threat. "He beat Scott Forrest in his last fight," Roehrig said.

"A good boxer, a good amateur pedigree, a good mover and someone that's going to come to win, come to fight and that's always exciting. He's going to create openings for me. We want a live fight."

Roehrig is the first fighter George Groves, a former WBA world champion and one of the big stars of British boxing, decided to train.

Groves saw something special in the youngster.

"Some stuff which you can't teach is: do you have speed and power - which he has in abundance. He's fun to train, he's fun to be on the journey with, he's going to be an exceptional fighter," Groves told Sky Sports.

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Groves was known for his resilience and strong mentality. His work on Roehrig's mind is going to be particularly telling. "There's a lot of sessions where it's physically hard, but the goal is to try and break me mentally," Roehrig said.

Groves explained: "It's now really about your mental preparation. Being on point all the time. I learned that the hard way in some ways. [His fight with James DeGale] was a battle of the mind. I really trained the brain to stay switched on and concentrated for the full duration of the fight but also the full duration of a camp.

"It's something that you do have to work on, you do have to develop and we're doing it."

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He is always subjecting Roehrig to tests, whether the prospect realises it or now. Putting him in to spar with Jai Opetaia, arguably the world's best cruiserweight, before Roehrig had even had a professional fight was one of those tests.

"To see how you can handle the pressure, if you're going to crumble, if you're going to complain," Roehrig recalled. "He pushed me and I didn't fold.

"It's the aura that's around someone like Opetaia, a big puncher, intense even for the sparring.

"I would say that's something I naturally have where I don't panic, I don't ever get too high or too low," he added.

"That's what gives you the confidence on fight night. I've already been through the trenches, I can really flourish now."

Watch Lucas Roehrig vs Connal McDonald this Saturday live on Sky Sports.