Speaking in an exclusive interview with CasinoBeats, British boxing legend George Groves gave his prediction for this weekend’s mega fight between Daniel Dubois and Joseph Parker. He also told us who he thinks will win the rematch between Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol.
Q: Callum Smith and Joshua Buatsi kicking off the card at 4:30pm. Obviously, you’ve been in the ring with Callum Smith. Maybe he’s a bit past his peak, would you say now? Whereas Joshua Buatsi is coming maybe into the peak of his career…
GG: It’s a fascinating one because in many ways both guys could be past their peak. Buatasi is a product of the 2016 Olympics and even back then, I remember he was in the gym with me, sparring, and as an amateur, just turning professional, I was really impressed with him with how much of an all round fighter that he was. He was big and strong and powerful, but really clever and would be great work for me and nothing to take away from Buatsi at that point but he was a fresh amateur in there with an experienced pro world champion at the time. He would be in there and he’d give me six, eight rounds of solid work where I had to be switched on.
So I thought he would be a world champion by now and he would have been a world champion for a few years. COVID has come and maybe a few other issues he’s had. And obviously the two best guys at light heavyweight are so dominant at the moment. It hasn’t happened for him, but Callum Smith who I had my last fight against in 2018. That’s over six years ago now. So, that’s how long he’s been operating at the top level. He had the loss against Canelo (Alvarez). But I don’t think that was a fair reflection of his ability. At times throughout his career, Callum Smith has blown hot, blown cold. And when he’s up for it, he’s very dangerous. And when he’s not, he’s not. I think he probably weight trained at super middleweight, up at light heavyweight, done really well, got destroyed against (Artur) Beterbiev. But other than that, he’s done well. This is a really good fight. This could be who’s got the right guy at the right time.
Because, both guys have got to come in and be on form, because I think if they’re not, and the other guy is firing on all cylinders, they’ll definitely get the win. Joshua Buatsi is the favourite with the bookies. Do you go along with that? Or do you think Callum Smith has the experience at this level to win? Buatsi’s had a couple of domestic fights. They’re not domestic fights as in the standard of opposition, because he’s beat Craig Richards, who’s operated at world level, he’s beat Dan Azeez, who’s a former European champion. And they were tough fights he had to get through and were close. But he’s got the win, so that would give him that experience. But when you factor it in against what Callum Smith has been in the ring with…He’s fought world champions. He’s been a world champion. I don’t think there’ll be any fear going into this. It’s just whether the legs are a bit more tired and he’s just not quite as fresh, but we’ll see. I think it’s a great fight. It’s a fight that both guys need to have. And at the moment where all the belts are occupied, you can’t really afford a slip up because when that opportunity comes, you want to be at the front of the queue.
Q: Hamzah Sheeraz vs Carlos Adames. He’s gone straight in for the hardest belt to win in that division. You gotta respect that. But this is Adames’ third defense. You can make an argument for both of them, it’s a real 50/50 fight.
GG: I haven’t seen a lot of Adames, but Sheeraz of late, I feel has been one of the most improved fighters in British boxing. He’s rose to the occasion time and time again, he carries himself like a champion now, and a regular and a key figure of the sort of Riyadh Season shows, which comes with a lot of pressure, I’d imagine. You’ve got fortunate enough to be part of these big shows, you’ll probably get paid well for it, but from experience, if you mess up, you’re out. People are talking about him potentially unifying the division further down the road if he wins here. That’s even more pressure on his shoulders.He seems to thrive on it, he doesn’t seem to feel it. I think so. He’s huge for the weight, really big. Tall guy. Punches hard and a few years ago you might not have backed Sheeraz to have made the improvements that he’d done. But now I think he’s definitely a future world champion. I wouldn’t be surprised if he goes and does a really good job. Stoppage win, you reckon? I think it can happen. Because, I wouldn’t back against his power. And he goes for the finish. When he puts his shots together and he gets the guys hurt, he’s good at closing the show. So, I’d back him for a stoppage win.
Q: Daniel Dubois. Obviously, we’ve seen his power against Anthony Joshua, but it’s a different kind of prospect for him now, isn’t it? Joseph Parker, someone who just has that stamina and doesn’t seem to get hurt easily at all. Could you see him causing an upset here? Because Dubois has got to be favourite.
GG: I think you go Dubois is your favorite, but this is a tough fight because Joseph Parker is in form and he looks like much more of an athlete now. I think he was always a good boxer and he always had that boxing ability about him that he had to use to have success in the heavyweight division because as much as he’s a big dude, he wasn’t the biggest of heavyweights, but former world champion and used his boxing ability at times to get wins, a few losses on the record. So you’d say has he found his level, but of late, I feel like it’s not just that he beat (Deontay) Wilder and he got off the floor to beat (Zhilei) Zhang because sometimes those wins can backfire against you. They can be flattering but, they are good wins and I feel like just looking at Joseph Parker and how his body’s made up. He looks stronger. He looks fitter. He looks more in tune mentally and he’s a real force. I’m sure he knows now at this stage of his career where now’s his chance to really capitalize, really make something for himself and he can’t afford a loss like no one really can. You don’t want to become just another name, another body, so he’s got another shot against Daniel Dubois, who is in great form.
Q: Will Dubois be going in with the same kind of mindset and tactics that he did with AJ? It’s not really the same kind of style of fighter, is it? So, he’s gonna have to adapt, and it’ll be interesting to see if he can, because people have kind of said he’s a bit of a one trick pony with the power punching..
GG: It’s a great trick (Dubois’ power punching). He must have frightening power. I think I’ll still make Daniel Dubois a favourite, but that is a really close fight, tough to pick the winner. Daniel Dubois when he’s on form, and when he brings that pressure, because he does shape up really well, I think his style of fighting, like the way he holds his hands and the way he moves his head, and it’s almost like an improvement fight after fight. It definitely was when I first saw it, the improvement was against Usyk and he didn’t really blow up because obviously he loses that fight against Usyk, but I thought he’s shaping up better. He looks like he’s evolving. And the Joshua fight. That Joshua win may always be his biggest moment. He might end up having better performances or beating bigger names, but there’ll be nothing in his life that will be what that was. Where he’s the champion ring walking first. He’s fighting in Wembley Stadium. He’s up against Anthony Joshua, the poster boy of British boxing for a long, long time. Whether any setbacks or whatnot. And to put in the performance and the dominant display that he did. In some ways, it will be cynical to say it’s all downhill from there for a while, but he’s got to keep winning.
What about the main event Bivol vs Beterbiev? Bivol seems kind of angry with himself after the first performance.
GG: It’s only four months since the first match, isn’t it? So it’s a quick turnaround. I wonder what he’s feeling. Does he feel like he’s been left in the cold? Because that’s what happens in boxing, the winners get celebrated. The losers get another fight. I went to the big award ceremony and, , Beterbiev was on the main table and Bivol was sat off to the side. A lot of times he was there on his own, like really sort of looked a little bit lost. Bivol’s got a recognisable face, but I wonder if his nose is out of joint. He’s like, hold on, I was on a pound for pound list not that long ago, and I’ve had one loss that was razor tight, and now I’m out in the cold. I think it wouldn’t surprise me if, if it is close again to a certain degree, and Bivol gets it and then we see, we see a trilogy. I think both guys were cautious of each other’s ability and each other’s punch power in the first fight. It wasn’t like safety first, but there were loads of moments where it was, it was safety first and boxing off the back foot that Bivol likes to do a lot of the time, might cost him a couple of rounds. Maybe the judges just thought, well, that was razor close, but Bivol was getting driven back, Beterbiev was driving him back so I’m giving that round to Beterbiev. So he might think, right, I’m not going to take a backward step. I’ll not take as many and I’m going to launch that second wave of attacks. So it might be something to draw something to shoot again and then cuts out a lovely angle really well. We could see a little bit more of that. They might have to roll the dice. It might be close at the halfway stage and Bivol goes, I’m going to put something on him, I’m going to have to drop him, I’m going to have to make a dent in him, and then we see a bit more drama, great, that would be great.
So what’s the official George Groves prediction?
GG: I think Bivol wins. I think it might be close again, but I think Bivol wins and then we see the third one.
Zhilei Zhang vs Agit Kabael, the German fighter with a Kurdish background, is another heavyweight clash on the cards. We’ve seen a lot of Zhang on these Riyadh cards but what do you make of Kabayel?
GG: It feels like he’s been, he’s been around for a while.
He’s been in the shadows, kind of in the background, hasn’t he? He’s got a win over Derek Chisora and a few others. That was a while back, wasn’t it? 2017, I think. Is that what it was? So, he’s not a huge, huge heavyweight, but he’s effective, he’s good. Because he’s in slightly better form, I’d pick him to beat Zhelei Zhang. But Zhang is such a monster, huge, hard hitting southpaw, it must be hard to find sparring to prepare for someone like that anything goes. It’s just the tank on Zhang isn’t it? I think if you can get him down the back straight, he just kind of runs out of steam, which is what Joseph Parker did to him, to be fair, so maybe he’ll be following a similar kind of tactic.
What’s next for Gervonta Davis? I think he’s got a fight against Lamont Roach coming up, hasn’t he?
GG: The latest I heard from Tank was that he was talking about retirement. But with the lightweight division so stacked, I can’t see him passing up the opportunity to fight some of these other names. Keyshawn Davis would be a great fight. He’s won the WBO lightweight title recently and we really need some kind of unification fights in that division. Tank might just be playing it cool and maybe he revels in being difficult. He’s from the same kind of ilk as Flloyd Mayweather, a bit anti establishment.
Can anyone dethrone Canelo at Super Middleweight? I think he’s fighting William Scull in May, and then obviously Terence Crawford in September. What chance do you give Bud there?
GG: You go against Canelo at your peril because he’s been so dominant at Super Middleweight over the years. I can’t see Crawford putting a dent in him. Obviously he’s got to get past Scull first but I don’t think he’ll struggle to win that fight. So we have to get that out of the way before we can really get into the Crawford fight. But at Super Middleweight I haven’t seen anyone of late who I think is going to give him a run for his money. He still seems like he’s in great physical condition. He does have quite a few miles on the clock now, but he doesn’t show it. It was only in the Bivol fight that he took quite a bit of punishment. I can’t see anyone dethroning him for a while yet.
Is women’s boxing getting the recognition it deserves?
GG: I keep getting the advert for Claressa Shields’ new movie, The Fire Inside out, so no doubt that will be huge. Boxxer have got this all female card at the Royal Albert Hall in March. That’s going to be historic with the huge all-British world title unification bout between Natasha Jonas and Lauren Price. Caroline Dubois is defending her WBC World Lightweight title too. I think it was always going to take time [for women’s boxing to get more recognition] because there will be a couple of standout stars, but with boxing you always need a dance partner. And until you’ve got a dance partner, then it’s hard. That’s Claressa Shield’s problem really. There’s no one that’s on her level.
I think women’s boxing is still in a really good place, healthy place and I think it must be quite alluring for young female fighters because you can climb the rankings really quickly. It’s still, in my opinion, a very different sport from the men’s because it is 10 two minute rounds. So because it’s over two minutes, they fight entirely differently than, than, than the men do over three minutes. So let’s take the pressure off of women’s boxing, and not compare it to men’s boxing.
Let’s not talk about it like it’s exactly the same, because it’s not, it’s two minute rounds. So the boxing or the style of boxing that you have to employ over two minutes is totally different. They throw a lot. It feels like when you watch it, I don’t know if they count the punches, but they throw a lot of punches. You don’t see as many knockouts. You don’t see as many shots being set up. Some of them, like Ellie Scottney, are very good, technical boxers. They shape up really well and they have great movement, great feet, great punch selection, but she’s a unified champion and I don’t think she’s ever had a stoppage win. But I think it’s in a really good place. You see it time and time again, loads of females coming through, females doing well.
