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George Groves faces Chris Eubank Jr. for the WBA Super Middleweight title at the Manchester Arena in Manchester, England on February 17th, 2018. The bout will serve as one of the semi-finals match-up for the super middleweight division edition of the World Boxing Super Series.
Coming Off KO Wins
Groves is coming off a 4th round knockout of Jamie Cox during his opening match of the World Boxing Super Series tournament. The fight also served as Groves’ first defense of the WBA super middleweight belt which he won over former champion Fedor Chudinov last May. It was Groves’ first title win in four tries.
Eubank meanwhile reached the semifinals with a third round stoppage of little known Avni Yildirim. Eubank has fought mostly at middleweight and in his most important bout, he dropped a 12 round split decision loss to then British and Commonwealth middleweight champion Billy Joe Saunders.
As Close As It Gets
This is as close as it gets. The betting odds favor Chris Eubank Jr. at -150 but George Groves isn’t far behind at +110. You can easily make a case for both fighters in this bout, that’s the reason why tickets for this one sold out very fast. It’s one of the most highly anticipated bouts of the tournament.
It’s fair to say that George Groves is the better boxer here and has a huge experience advantage over Eubank. Groves is famous for his two bouts against the legendary Carl Froch and although he lost both fights, his familiarity with an event of this magnitude is a big plus for him.
More Stamina
But Eubank is the better athlete and has more stamina. He’s good at pacing himself and keeping something left in the tank for the championship rounds, where he loves to be the aggressor. That’s bad news for someone like Groves who can be wild at times and whom we’ve seen in the past tire himself out after getting lured into a brawl.
Keep an eye for Eubank’s uppercuts, they might end this fight in the later rounds. It’s going to be fun and exciting as everyone else expected. But in the end, it’s going to be Chris Eubank Jr. who will be moving one fight closer to winning the Ali Trophy. We’re picking Chris Eubank Jr. to in by late stoppage or close decision.
