Eubank and Groves begin fighting talk
THE war of words has began between George Groves and Chris Eubank Jnr as they met at their first press conference ahead of their highly-anticipated fight at the Manchester Arena on Febraury 17.
WBA super-middleweight champion Groves will face IBO super-middleweight champion Eubank Jnr in the semi-final of the World Boxing Super Series.
The winner of the tournament will earn the Muhammad Ali Trophy, and the domestic rivals didn’t waste any time getting stuck into one another at their press conference in London yesterday.
“On paper this is billed as a 50-50 or maybe even Eubank Jnr as a favourite. I don’t understand that. The form, history, experience and ability all lie in my favour,” said Groves.
“Eubank isn’t good enough. He doesn’t have the pedigree. He can get as fit as he wants but he’s nothing more than a stepping stone and I’m at the very top and still improving. I can imagine this has been his dream. He’s been craving the big fights without actually wanting a big fight. He attaches his name with big fighters and it falls through, but now he’s here.”
Eubank was quick to hit back at Groves, and remains extremely confident he will get his hand raised come February 17.
“I’ve had many big fights. This is probably
This is clearly the fight everyone wanted. This fight will capture a generation of fans Promoter Kalle Sauerland
the biggest fight in terms of profile and hype, but I’ll rise to the occasion as always,” he said. “George seems to be focused on what I’m going to do, but he needs to worry about himself. Thinking about me will get him nowhere. “I am a man of my word and George will not see the 12th round. It doesn’t matter if my game plan goes completely out the window, I’ll find a way to stop him.
“Aside from power he’s pretty average. He doesn’t have speed, his defence is poor, and his stamina is average at best. This is the biggest fight of my career and that alone makes me confident because I know I can’t afford to lose.”
Tickets for the fight at the Manchester Arena went on sale yesterday morning and sold out in just seven minutes, but promoter Kalle Sauerland says they will do all they can to try and make more tickets available.
“We will work hard over the coming weeks to release extra tickets to meet the huge demand for this fight,” he said.
“This is clearly the fight everyone wanted and I am sure this superfight will capture not only a nation, but a generation of fight fans.
“The build-up is going to be huge and we can’t wait to go to Manchester for a sold-out event between two spectacular rivals and world-class fighters.”
TICKETS SELL OUT IN SECONDS FOR BIG SHOWDOWN IN MANCHESTER