Badou Jack vs George Groves Preview September 12th
Badou Jack of Sweden will be defending his WBC Super Middleweight Championship against England’s George Groves on Saturday, September 12th at the MGM Grand Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. The bout is on the undercard of the Floyd Mayweather vs Andre Berto contest. Fans in North America can access the fights via pay-per-view on the Showtime network while UK fans can pick it up live on BoxNation. This is Jack’s first defence of the title he won earlier in the year by beating American Anthony Dirrell by majority decision. This will be Groves’ third shot at a world title as he was stopped twice by fellow countryman Carl Froch.
Jack vs Groves Betting Odds
Here are the winner odds from online sportsbook BetOnline.ag (full review here).
- Badou Jack +140
- George Groves -160
My Pick
The 31-year-old Jack, who now fights out of Las Vegas, enters the ring with a record of 19-1-1 along with 12 Kos. His lone defeat came at the hands of Derek Edwards back in February of 2014 when he was knocked out in the second minute of the fight. Jack doesn’t have much experience against top-level foes, but did enough to outwork Dirrell back in April. Groves has met slightly better opposition, including Froch, but his chin let him down in those fights. He boxed Froch as well as anybody has and even decked him in the first round of the first bout, but his opponent eventually caught up to him. The 27-year-old Groves of London is 21-2 with 16 Kos with his two losses being to Froch.
Jack fought in the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China for Gambia, even though he was born in Stockholm, Sweden. He turned pro in 2009 and has fought 106 rounds since then. Jack is 6-feet-1-inch tall and has a 73-inch reach. Groves is just under 6-feet tall and has a 72-inch reach. He’s boxed 131 rounds under his belt since turning pro in 2008. Jack is actually the underdog in this fight and he needs to show the world that he didn’t just catch Dirrell on an off night when he won the title. Groves, a former British and Commonwealth champion is determined to win a world title and this would seem to be his best chance, against a relatively unproven titlist in Jack.
Groves gained a lot of confidence in his performances against Froch even though he lost them both. His power is quite noticeable as he holds a knockout ratio of 70 per cent compared to Jack’s 57 per cent. Groves has fine boxing skills to go along with his heavy fists and likes to use his job. But Froch showed he’s vulnerable to counter punches if he leaves himself open for too long. Both boxers have been stopped in their careers and that could result in a knockdown or two on Saturday.
Prediction……
This is one of the toughest bouts to predict this weekend. Groves is younger and could be hungrier. Overall, he probably has more power than Jack does too. But if he gets too carried away in the ring it won’t help him. Groves needs to stay calm and try to win each round rather than go for a knockout. Jack’s a good boxer, but hasn’t got one-punch knockout power. If Groves’ chin can handle Jack’s best shots I’d look for him to take the title by decision or late stoppage.
Close fight here, you could go either way without taking a huge risk.
Play: Groves -160 @ BetOnline.ag
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Badou Jack betting • George Groves betting