George Groves has revealed the “best way” to beat Oleksandr Usyk ahead of his blockbuster fight with Daniel Dubois at Wembley on Saturday.
The former WBA super-middleweight champion knows a thing or two about huge fights in the iconic English stadium, with his mega rematch against Carl Froch breaking the record at the time for a British boxing match crowd.
A whopping 80,000 spectators crammed into Wembley to see the 37-year-old lose his second consecutive fight against Froch, in a rivalry fuelled by genuine bad blood.
While Usyk and Dubois’ rivalry may not replicate the pure animosity between the pair, the belts on the line and the importance certainly mirror, if not surpass, it.
Getty
|Over 80,000 fans watched the rematch of George Groves against Carl Froch at Wembley
Speaking to Midnite at a Q&A event, former super-middleweight champion Groves had some strong advice for fellow countryman Dubois, pointing to the importance of the 27-year-old’s start against the unbeaten Ukrainian.
“Dubois has got to start quick,” Groves said. “He’s got to be switched on mentally from the changing room and prepare himself to start fast.
“He wants to bring pressure, but educated pressure and hopefully land something heavy and big on Usyk in those first few rounds before Usyk gets his rhythm set and his distance control set up.
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Midnite
|George Groves believes starting well and disrupting Oleksandr Usyk's early rhythm will be key in Daniel Dubois' hopes of a shock victory
“But if he has success early, that’s the best way to start against Usyk.”
Two of Groves’ four career losses came against Froch in the iconic bouts, but one boxer he did get the better of was Chris Eubank Jr.
Eubank Jr was recently involved in his own blockbuster bout against fellow Englishman Conor Benn, beating the 28-year-old in another iconic saga in British boxing.
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Saint George believes Benn has a real chance at avenging the defeat in their rematch, giving a few words of advice on things that he learned to the former two-division world champion.
He said: “The first Eubank-Benn fight was a 50/50 in the end, wasn’t it? We could see a different outcome in the second fight.
“Eubank is at the tail end of his career, struggling to make the weight now. Conor Benn might have learnt a lot from the experience (of the first fight).
“It might be a different result next time, I would not be surprised. When you’ve fought someone, you look at things and think, ‘I can see how to beat him’. But there’s many ways to skin a cat.
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Midnite
|The 37-year-old believes Conor Benn could beat Chris Eubank Jr in their rematch
“Me and Conor Benn are not the same fighter, so even size difference, make-up, the way we fight. You’ve got to work to your strengths and nullify your weaknesses.
“But sometimes the fundamentals just always work. Don’t forget them.”
From one iconic British rivalry to another, Groves concluded by agreeing with the masses - it would be a travesty if British boxing fans were robbed of the opportunity to see Tyson Fury fight Anthony Joshua.
The 37-year-old said he wants to see it, whether either fighter is in their prime or not.
He continued: “I want to see it [AJ v Fury]. I don’t want to see Fury-Usyk again. I want to see either man retire or fight each other.
“I don’t know who wins - that’s the best bit about it. Whoever wins will be allowed to say ‘I was better than you’.
“So it can still be up for debate who would have beat who in their prime, but let’s talk about it now.
“Pacquiao and Mayweather - who would have beaten who in their prime? But Mayweather beat Pacquiao easily.”