A fight I really cant wait for at Wembley on Saturday as George Groves (13-0, 10 KO's) appears for the first time since the DeGale fight, as he makes a British and Commonwealth title defence v Liverpool's Paul “Smigga” Smith (31-2, 17 KO's).Team Groves got their tactics spot on in the DeGale fight, it wasnt great to watch to be honest, but credit has to go to Groves for boxing well on the outside. This is going to be a completely different fight, Smith is a lot more direct than DeGale, and what go against Groves here is that this doesnt have the same hype. I think Groves was so up for that fight, but he managed to stay calm under pressure as well, but this fight has the touch of Kenny Anderson about it. I know Groves hates people going on about the Anderson fight, but it was only a year ago, and he was in massive trouble. Smith is pretty similar to Anderson, but more experienced and I believe hungrier to get his titles back.
“Smigga” got beat by DeGale last December, losing his title in the 9th round, a fight where he really struggled in. He's bounced back with two easy 1st round stoppages since then, but ignore those fights, what could be key is the fact that he's with Joe Gallagher now. He looked like a fighter on the slide v DeGale, but Joe is a great motivator and can also improve a guy, despite having boxed 159 pro rounds. The Gallagher gym is buzzing, Scott Quigg became another British champion for them two weeks ago, and that momentum could very well continue in London.
I havent heard much from Team Groves in the buildup to this fight and that worries me a little. Adam Booth has no David Haye anymore and you just wonder if he wants go through it all again with Groves. Smith sounds well up for this fight, he has been a British champion before and like I've said I think the style of this fight will suit him, so I'm going for the upset win, and I can see him stopping Groves.
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