HBO Fight Preview

Carl Froch vs. George Groves

Saturday afternoon on HBO fans will get to experience just how passionate English boxing fans are.  That is because two fighters born in the U.K. will be fighting a rematch of their highly controversial 2013 fight.  Carl Froch tasted the canvas in the first fight but was able to stop George Groves in the 9th round in one of the worst stoppages in recent memory.  Groves was ahead on all three judges scorecards and while he was hurt he was never in any danger which is why so many fans were upset with the referee's stoppage.  This time around Groves will not only be looking for redemption but will also be trying to take Froch's IBF & WBA super middleweight title belts.

Froch will try to prove this stoppage was legit

Typically Froch is a good strong fight with a long jab.  He also usually counters his opponents very well.  However against Groves, Froch did not look like himself.  A lot of fighters who have been in many wars seem to get old quite suddenly and that is what may have happened to Froch.  When Froch was in the ring with Groves he was getting backed up for the majority of the fight and just waited to land counter punches, the problem was that they didn't have much behind them since he was on his back foot.  He did throw the jab a lot and while it landed it wasn't doing any damage.  Froch fights pretty much straight up and keeps his hands about chest high.  The orthodox fighter also has a bad habit of not bringing his right hand up to protect his chin when he throws his jab and he usually keeps his left hand low on defense which leaves him wide open for Groves' best punch, his overhand right.  Luckily for Froch he has a good chin and although he has been dropped he has never been knocked out.

One thing Froch has in his favor is experience.  Groves has only really been in two high level fights, his fight with Froch and his fight against the underrated but also past his prime Glen Johnson.  Froch is on the opposite end of the spectrum and has been in many top level fights.  He has fought Mikkel Kessler twice, Andre Ward, Lucian Bute, Glen Johnson, Arthur Abraham, and Jermain Taylor among others.  Until very recently Froch was ranked in the top 10 pound for pound rankings and holds an impressive record of 32-2 with 23 knockouts.  For Froch this fight is about proving he still has enough left in the tank to be a high level fighter.

Groves rocked Froch in the very 1st round

Like Froch, Groves also has an awkward style in the ring.  He fights out of a crouched stance and keep his left hand very low and wide from his body.  Groves is a very aggressive fighter and never stops applying pressure to his opponents.  That was very clear against Froch as Groves was able to easily back him up throughout the fight.  Aside from being a bigger puncher than Froch he also has the faster hands which played a big role in their first fight.  Groves does tend to leap in from too far away with certain punches much like Shawn Porter does.  While Groves has solid power in both hands his lights out punch is his overhand right, the punch he dropped Froch with.  Between the two fighters Groves should be much more confident because even though he technically lost he was ahead on all the scorecards and the stoppage was questionable at best.

Groves did have a nice victory over Johnson before facing Froch but Froch was cleary the biggest step up of his career.  That is surprising considering how good Groves looked and it seemed as if he had been in many top fights before that.  To this point in his career Groves only blemish is his loss to Froch and he has a career record of 19-1 with a strong 15 knockouts.  If Groves were to beat Froch this time around it would wipe away the memory of his first loss and take his career to new heights.

This fight may come down to confidence more than anything else.  Groves knows he was winning the first fight and that the stoppage was a joke and because of that he should enter the ring extremely confident in his ability to beat Froch and possibly even stop him.  Froch on the other hand knows he was down on all three judges scorecards at the time of the stoppage and if he is honest with himself he has to know the stoppage was a bad one.  If Froch doesn't enter the ring confident and allows Groves to consistently back him up as he did in their first fight he may be in for a long night.  Groves may enter the ring more aggressive than ever and might even look to stop Froch early.  Whatever happens this should be a great fight and an even better atmosphere.

PREDICTION: Carl Froch has been a top fighter for a long time but his prime is behind him.  George Groves should have won the first fight and that will give him a tremendous amount of confidence coming into this bout.  Groves is going to be relentless this time around and win this fight by the way of 10th round stoppage.

Simpiwe Vetyeka vs. Nonito Donaire

The co-feature of Saturday's afternoon card will be from Macau, China.  It will feature a fighter who from 2010 to 2012 was one of the best in the sport, Nonito Donaire.  Then came 2013 when Donaire lost to Guillermo Rigondeaux and was down on the cards against Vic Darchinyan until he came back to knock him out in the 9th round.  Those two fights have seen Donaire who was Big Time Boxing's 2012 Fighter of the Year fall out of favor with fans and out of most top 10 pound for pound rankings.  Donaire will be the challenger in this fight trying to take the WBA featherweight title from Simpiwe Vetyeka, the fighter who handed Chris John his first career loss.

Vetyeka scored a big upset win over John

That win over John was the biggest of Vetyeka's career.  A South African fighter, Vetyeka has only fought outside of his country three times.  It may not be fair but many fighters from South Africa have a reputation of being overrated.  That is because although South Africa does produce a ton of tough fighters they aren't the most skilled of the bunch.  Perhaps because of that Vetyeka holds a career record of 26-2 with 16 knockouts.  Against Donaire fans will really get to see just how good Vetyeka is.

The orthodox Vetyeka has an interesting style because he fights with a confidence befitting a much better fighter.  He usually fights with his hands low, especially his left and when he throws his jab it comes from an upward angle.  Even at close range Vetyeka doesn't bring his hands up but looks to counter and out slick his opponents.  Vetyeka does have pretty good hand speed but his style sees him take a lot of clean punches, something that might be very dangerous against the powerful Donaire.

It seems like a lifetime ago that Donaire won the Fighter of the Year.  He was easily outboxed by Rigondeaux and wasn't looking very good against Darchinyan until he scored the stoppage.  In 2012 Donaire looked unbeatable but Rigondeaux may have ruined his career.  Yes that sounds dramatic but Donaire seemed to lose a ton of confidence after that loss and for this fight against Vetyeka spent much of his time training with his father instead of usual trainer Robert Garcia, a change that may have hurt his preparation.  An impressive win against Vetyeka, especially a knockout would really help to remind fans just how good Donaire is.  His career record is 32-2 with 21 knockouts and this fight is certainly a big one for him.

 

Donaire was the Fighter of the Year for 2012

Donaire has always been an awkward fighter with a similar style to that of Manny Pacquiao and Sergio Martinez.  Donaire will fight with his hands low and head out seemingly daring his opponent to throw a punch.  He also uses a lot of feints and movement to frustrate opponents.  When he was at the top of his game the scariest thing about Donaire was that for such a small fighter he had such tremendous power.  Donaire throws heavy leather with both hands and has legitimate one punch knockout power.  That power could allow Donaire to see a lot of success against Vetyeka he usually eats a lot of punches.

This fight should be very interesting, mainly because of Donaire.  It wasn't long ago that the Filipino fighter looked unbeatable but he really needs an impressive win, not only to remain in the top 10 pound for pound rankings but also to stay relevant with fans.  While Vetyeka will enter the ring as the champion he should also be the underdog due to his lack of top tier opposition.  It remains to be seen how well Donaire will do with his father in his corner but if he looks like his old self this could be a very short fight.

PREDICTION: Simpiwe Vetyeka will fall victim to the same thing many South African fighters do, lack of quality opponents on the way up.  Vetyeka does have a title but he only beat one real top fighter to earn it.  His inexperience at the top level will show in this fight and while Nonito Donaire still won't look like his prime 2012 self he will be good enough to in.  Donaire will land a lot of clean crisp punches and will win this fight by the way of 10th round stoppage.