IBF and WBA regular super middleweight champion Carl Froch has promised to knock out domestic rival and challenger George Groves when the pair meet in Manchester in November.
Nottingham’s Froch will be in his 11th successive world title fight when he defends his belts against Londoner Groves on Nov. 23 at the Phones4U Arena.
The supremely confident 36-year-old says this will be a test too far for his unbeaten foe.
“He could have probably done with a couple more fights against some higher-ranked opposition than the ones he’s been fighting before he took on a challenge of this magnitude,” Froch said.
“We saw Floyd Mayweather [Jr] against [Saul] ‘Canelo’ Alvarez at the weekend, that’s an example of someone who’s in their early 20s against someone who’s 35 or 36 with bags of experience at the top level,” he said. “Alvarez has had maybe 40 fights, so he’s got plenty of experience, and he got the floor wiped with him by Floyd Mayweather. I’m not saying I’m Floyd Mayweather, but [Groves] is not Alvarez. So it’s a similar comparison and you saw what happened in that fight, it was a bit of a mismatch and that’s what this could be.”
Froch, who has lost twice in 31 bouts, says he will be aiming to put his opponent on the floor.
“George Groves has got a glass jaw, so when the big shots start landing, the jaw’s going to shatter and he’s going to hit the canvas, so the fans are in for a real treat,” he said.
Groves, 25, who has 15 knock-outs from 19 wins in as many fights, admitted he has not faced many fighters with Froch’s experience, but said he believes he has the skills to take on the man currently ranked as the second-best in the division.
“Sometimes it takes a few rounds to break them down and get them to make mistakes, other times they make those mistakes for you and you make them pay early,” he said. “I wouldn’t be too specific with a prediction, but I guarantee that he will not hear the final bell.”
The fight will take place a week after the widely regarded best fighter in the division, WBA super-champion Andre Ward from the US, takes on Dominican Edwin Rodriguez, with someone’s unbeaten record sure to go.
Ward has 14 KOs from 26 wins, while Rodriguez’s record is very similar, with 16 KOs from 24 wins.
Ward is one of only two fighters to have beaten Froch, in a dominant display in Atlantic City in 2011, but the Briton is keen on a rematch should both come through their respective November bouts victorious.
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