Carl Froch wants George Groves to prove he is not finished
Thursday 28 January 2016 21:55, UK
Carl Froch and George Groves will never be friends but the man who came out on top in their two meetings wants to see Groves get back to his best and be good enough to get another crack at a world title...
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Love him or loathe him, people will be watching George Groves on Saturday night, me included.
There is public interest in him, whether it is for good reasons or bad reasons.
Don't get me wrong, those two fights with me got people involved in his career but there was more to it than that - and I don't mind admitting that.
The rivalry with James DeGale, the fall-outs with Adam Booth and Paddy Fitzpatrick and that loss to Badou Jack have all got people wanting to see where he is at when he fights.
Of course, some think he's finished as a fighter and want to see him fall flat on his face, but me as a boxer and working for Sky, I want to see our boxers doing well for our country.
Put aside personal issues and the animosity over our two fights - which is never going to go away - I will be watching on Saturday night, that's for sure.
There is one big issue that I can't avoid and that is: I am not sure he is going to do well again. I haven't seen enough to suggest he will get back to anything like that first fight against me in Manchester.
He used to stalk his opponent, back them up with that low guard and had that wide stance and fired that right hand, accurately, straight down the barrel. He hits hard, very hard, believe me.
But he didn't look that good in the second one against me. At least that time I nullified everything he had, but against Christopher Rebrasse, 'Mama's Boy' Denis Douglin and Badou Jack, he's not been anywhere near what we'd all call his best.
Groves does have fast hands but I've not seen him good on his front foot. On the back foot he is a bit awkward and uncomfortable but offensively I've just not seen what I thought I would see.
I am never going to send him a good luck message but I am sure I am not the only one who wants to see him showing the stuff he used to bring to the table. He has never been a 12-round fighter because of his explosiveness and he's a bit like David Haye - which is no bad thing.
Is it a mental thing with Groves? Is it down to his age? Has he got old before his time? I hope not and with a new, young trainer in Shane McGuigan, he seems happy in the gym again.
And if he is happy, mentally switched-on and is over Wembley and the Vegas defeat - which he lost fair and square - we might see what we used to see.
I am never going to send Groves a good luck message but I am sure I am not the only one who wants to see the stuff he used to bring to the table.
If we see some of the old George Groves sparkle back I will get excited and I will want to watch him fight for a world title again.
Fighting DeGale would be good, but not yet. I am not sure people will buy into that right now, but like Shane said, Groves needs to get a world title and then fight him. That would make it even bigger and better.
But the bottom line is we need to see him look great on Saturday night against Andrea Di Luisa, then we can look ahead.
The Italian was blown away in four rounds by Lucian Bute so that has to be Groves' new benchmark. He needs to do the same, or better. Then we will know where he's at.
I am worried that, like so many fighters, he has peaked at a relatively young age. He is still only 27 and while I have more hair than him despite being 10 years older, I wonder if he can get any better, faster or stronger.
I want to see Groves looking physically strong and sharp. He needs to look great, he needs to look flawless and emphatic and if he does that, we then want to see him fight someone decent.
Believe it or not, I want to see George Groves do well and look the part again.
