Can George Groves fulfil his world title dream? We asked The Panel...
Froch, Smith, Murray, McCrory, Nelson, Coldwell and Moore
Friday 29 January 2016 11:53, UK
George Groves begins his campaign for a fourth world title shot on Saturday night, live on Sky Sports.
'The Saint' fights Andrea Di Luisa at London's Copper Box Arena, making his return to the ring after September's split-decision points defeat to WBC super-middleweight champion Badou Jack.
Can Groves recapture the form and fierceness that took him to the top? We asked The Panel what they think he needs to do under the guidance of new trainer Shane McGuigan...
Johnny Nelson
Some fighters want to control every aspect of their career - the management, promotion, training. I think George put himself in that position and had a lot of weight on his shoulders, so his eye was taken off the ball.
He now needs to trust Shane McGuigan and hand over the reins. Give Shane the responsibility - if he says 'jump', ask 'how high' rather than 'why'. That's the important ingredient that had gone missing from George's arsenal after he left Adam Booth.
George needs an authority to tell him 'this is what we're doing', to take him forward. If you employ a trainer, what he says goes - no negotiation. George has been a control freak and if you do that, you can't concentrate on the job at hand. An old friend of mine, Naseem Hamed, did that and once he started controlling everything his performances suffered.
Callum Smith
We'll know a lot more after Saturday night. A lot of the blame was put on his relationship with Paddy Fitzpatrick, saying they didn't gel.
We'll know after a couple of fights under Shane McGuigan whether it was the trainer, or whether the defeats to Carl Froch affected him mentally and he's not the same fighter he was.
What he did well before the Froch fight, I think he went on to neglect. Maybe he believed in his own power too much and wanted to stand and trade. If he can gel with McGuigan, he can get into those big fights again. If not, maybe his best days are behind him.
Dave Coldwell
This is a nice fight for him to come back to and he deserves that. He's had a couple of big, hard fights and this is a nice comfortable one. He's got a new trainer and it's about settling in and getting used to it.
For me, he needs to get back to the stuff he was doing under Adam Booth. No disrespect to Shane McGuigan, because Shane will do what he has to do with him, but I'm talking in regards to his style. He was a sharp puncher and everything was more fluid. His head movement was great even under pressure and his punch-picking was excellent.
He needs to get that speed and head movement back. I don't like seeing him getting hit as often as he has done. Rebrasse and Jack found him quite a bit. Everything seems to be forced these days and he doesn't seem to be as smooth as he used to be. If you look at the first Froch fight, it was a great performance and he had world champion written all over him.
Carl Froch
It worries me that George might well have hit his peak so early after what he's been through. I hope not because I want all British boxers to do well - even if I am not going to send him a good luck message.
I want to see him show what he used to bring to the table, what brought him success. He used to stalk his opponents - a bit like David Haye - back them up with that low guard and then throw that big right, accurately, straight down the barrel. He does have fast hands and needs to get back to what he used to do best.
I want to see him fire that right in again and believe me, he hits hard. Very hard.
Live Fight Night
Martin Murray
His opponent has been stopped by Christopher Rebrasse, who is tough and resilient but doesn't have the biggest punch. I'm expecting George to stop him. George is now my rival. The fight with Groves is a fight I now want. I want them all - Groves, Paul Smith and James DeGale. I'll be there on Saturday, watching ringside.
Groves fought Carl Froch and those fights may have taken a lot out of him. Froch is a warrior and a proven world champion. Then he's only just missed out in Badou Jack's backyard.
He's pretty much in the same position I am - he's 'there.' Maybe he'd have got the decision against Jack if it was in the UK. He obviously felt he needed the change with the new trainer.
Jamie Moore
During his time with Paddy Fitzpatrick I get the feeling that it was a bit of a one-man team. All fighters are different. Some like training on their own and being in their own thoughts. Other people like a lot of others round them and a nice atmosphere in the gym.
In David Haye, George has someone who he is familiar with and they had a successful time together. The two being reunited will bring back the positive vibes they had when they were fighting under Adam Booth. For me, it's not so much the change of trainer because I think Paddy FItzpatrick is a good trainer - maybe the camaraderie and the reunion with Haye will be the key contributing factor to getting his mojo back.
Glenn McCrory
He's made changes with his trainer, going to Shane McGuigan who also has David Haye and Carl Frampton which is a very successful stable. That will help. Too often in the past he's been his own man, and he needs to be more structured. He needs someone to tell him what to do, that's been a problem.
He's spent far too much time promoting fights and not enough on the job at hand. He sold the majority of the 80,000 seats at Wembley against Carl Froch, he works very hard at that side of the game.
I think he should take a back-step, everybody knows who he is, he's made his name. He's still young and talented enough to win a world title.
