Eu won’t see me crumble
CHRIS TARGETING ’WEAK’ GROVES
CHRIS EUBANK JUNIOR claims he sees weakness when he stares into the eyes of George Groves.
Eubank believes that Groves isn’t willing to put it all on the line like he is when they meet in tonight’s World Boxing Super Series semi-final at Manchester Arena.
“When I looked into his eyes I felt weakness and regret,” said the 28-year-old.
“He’s there to be beaten. He’s there to be dominated.
“I don’t feel he’s there mentally and prepared to put everything on the line like I am. “When I get into that ring, it might sound a cliche or a bit too dramatic, but I’m willing to die in that ring to win. He’s not. “I’m willing to do anything I can to win that fight within the rules of boxing. I will not give up, I will not stop. I won’t crumble.”
To borrow one of the super-middleweight star’s phrases from the buildup, mindless talk of dying in the ring is “dangerous language”. And Eubank and Groves know the risks of what can go wrong in the ring more than most, having both shared the horror of causing opponents serious brain injuries.
Nick Blackwell and Eduard Gutknecht’s lives were changed forever by their fights with Eubank and Groves.
Tonight’s fight will be the true test of what scars from those dark nights remain.
Groves, 29, has gone on to win a world title since beating Gutknecht in 2016 while Eubank has elevated himself to a position where he has earned this fight. Only a perfect performance can guarantee victory for either man and that is what makes it such an appealing match.
But WBA super-middleweight champion Groves claims simply wanting it more will not be enough for Eubank.
“I won’t struggle to find a home for my shots. He will have to walk through fire to land his. I won’t be a static target laying on the ropes,” said Groves.
This is Groves’ first fight at Manchester Arena since his controversial first defeat by Carl Froch in 2013, when he felt referee Howard Foster stopped the fight too early in the
ninth round of a ferocious contest. “After that first Froch fight I didn’t really feel like I’d lost,’ he said.
“The rematch was a far greater low than that night, and the Badou Jack fight too. Those two were the worst. I don’t take anything for granted.
“They talk about him being younger and fresher but he’s only a year younger than me.
“He might be fresher in that he hasn’t been in the big fights but he has put his body through it to get into shape. He has also lost and had to come back from that.
Dislike
“He never really made the step up after. This is the step up but only because he’s in this tournament.”
Eubank said: “He’s been definitively beaten by other men, he knows how to lose, he knows how to get knocked out.
“Do I dislike him? I’m not that type of man. I don’t just dislike people.
“I’ve wanted to fight him for years. It doesn’t mean I hate him, he’s just in an unfortunate position of standing in my path.”