Super Middleweight

Robert Stieglitz (46-4, 26 KO) will start his climb back up the ranks of super middleweights on Saturday in the hopes of regaining another piece of the world title at 168 pounds.

He will face 39-year-old Ukrainian Sergey "The Ghost" Khomitsky (29-10-2, 12 KO) in a bout that looks like a completely one-sided deal. In Stieglitz's last bout, he lost a split decision to rival Arthur Abraham. It was the third time the two had met and the second time Abraham had bested Stieglitz by decision.

Abraham also won their first meeting back in 2012. Though Abraham owns the edge in the series, Stieglitz scored the only decisive win with his fourth-round TKO victory.

It seems like a fourth fight between the two could happen at some point. For now, Stieglitz looks set to beat up on an over-the-hill opponent. Despite Khomitsky's age and modest record, Stieglitz insists his opponent shouldn't be dismissed. At the final press conference for the bout, he talked about his potentially dangerous opponent, per FightNews.com:

I am forewarned. A ghost always comes surprisingly and unexpectedly. I’ve prepared myself for [his] fighting style, so I’m safe. He can’t scare me. Khomitsky is good for surprises, well rested and he boxes smart. His victory for the WBO European championship against Buglioni in England was no coincidence. One may never, ever underestimate him. He is a daredevil! If I want to get “my belt” back, then the only possible way is with a clear victory over this “ghost!

Here's how you can watch the fight.

When: Saturday at 3.15 p.m. ET, 10.15 p.m. local time

Where: Dessau, Sachsen-Anhalt, Germany

TV: SAT1 in Germany

The Book on Stieglitz

Stieglitz is either one of the most slept on or overly protected fighters in the last 10 years. In either case, not many outside of his native Germany know who he is or what he has accomplished in boxing.

He is a two-time world champion. He first won the title in 2009 with a win over Karoly Balzsay. Stieglitz held the title until his first meeting with Abraham in 2012.

When he defeated Abraham in the rematch, he took back the championship and held it before losing it again to the Armenian in March in their third encounter. From afar, it sounds like a noteworthy run for Stieglitz over the last five years, but a closer examination shows the weakness of the German's resume.

Over the aforementioned time span, Abraham is the only current or former world champion Stieglitz has faced. When the 168-pound Super Six Tournament took place between 2009 and 2011, Stieglitz didn't participate.

Pound-for-pound contender Andre Ward won the tournament, and it helped make him a star. Stieglitz had a long title run during this time, but it took place in relative obscurity. Perhaps the weaknesses that Bleacher Report's Briggs Seekins points out have prevented his camp from pushing him into bouts with better fighters outside of Germany.

Seekins wrote:

Robert Stieglitz is a hittable fighter. He comes forward in predictable lines and uses minimal head movement.

He has a tendency to drop his hands slightly just before pumping his jab. This provides his opponents a tell, and it makes it easier for them to counter over the top with straight rights.

When he attacks, he tends to square up and make himself a bigger target.

These are all bad habits that elite fighters are sure to exploit. Luckily for Stieglitz, Khomitsky is not elite.

Will he ever take the risks with his matchmaking that could give him an opportunity to become a star? It sure isn't happening with this fight.

The Book on Khomitsky

The only positive thing to say about Khomitsky's chances of winning on Saturday is that he has nothing to lose. If that even counts.

No one expects Khomitsky to give Stieglitz much trouble, no matter how the German tried to sell his opponent to the public. Khomitsky has only been in one bout scheduled for more than eight rounds since 2011. He has been in the ring with some top competition. Gennady Golovkin and Martin Murray (twice) are two of his past opponents, but he didn't win any of those fights.

There's no reason to believe he'll be able to pull the major upset. It just seems a little late in Stieglitz's career for him to face a gatekeeper type.

Prediction

Stieglitz will win by unanimous decision. Khomitsky has a solid chin, but he could possibly lose every round on the judges' scorecards.

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@BMaziqueFPBR

Carl Froch affirmed his status as Britain's boxing king and retained his WBA and IBF super middleweight titles on Saturday night in London, defeating George Groves via technical knockout in their highly-anticipated championship rematch. 

BBC Sport announced the final result, which came via a thunderous right hand from Froch: 

Despite having lost the first fight via a controversial ninth-round stoppage, Groves set the tone for Saturday's bout just days earlier when he warned Froch that his reign would be coming to an end, per The Guardian's Sean Ingle: 

"I don’t need to antagonize Carl. I want him to be at peace because it is dawning on him that his day of reckoning is fast approaching. He is going to have to face the inevitable. He is like a man on death row."

Ironically, it was Froch who had the last laugh. 

The two fighters were both tentative to start, with each trading jabs in the opening round, as pointed out by Evening Echo columnist Ger McCarthy:

Groves flashed the better quickness in Round 2, landing more accurate shots than Froch after being pushed to the ground earlier in the round. Groves threw 13 more punches than Froch through the opening two rounds.

With the crowd getting restless in the third round, Froch woke up the spectators with a strong right hand that led to a wild exchange that clearly affected both fighters.

Both Froch and Groves landed a fair share of shots in Round 4, but Groves was clearly the aggressor, applying consistent pressure on Froch. "The Cobra" flipped the switch in the fifth round, though, landing a powerful shot that shook up Groves. Looking for the knockout, Froch attacked, but Groves was able to defend.

Nonetheless, the fifth round belonged to the more aggressive Froch, as noted by boxing reporter Francisco A. Salazar:

Finally settling into the bout, Froch would continue to attack Groves' body midway through the fight, landing a slew of damaging shots.

Having seized control of the bout, a confident Froch let a vicious right hand fly in the eighth that sent Groves to the mat in a heap. The referee rushed over to the 26-year-old and quickly waved off the fight. 

The victory not only bolsters Froch's impressive professional resume but ends any controversy following the result of their first fight back in November 2013.

Froch will now turn his attention to James DeGale, who defeated American Brandon Gonzales on Saturday to earn a title shot.

For Groves, it's back to the drawing board, as he failed to follow up on a strong performance in the first fight and a strong start through the first four rounds of Saturday's rematch. 

Follow Bleacher Report Featured Columnist Patrick Clarke on Twitter. 

James DeGale is the IBF's mandatory challenger to face the winner of Carl Froch's rematch with George Groves after he demolished Brandon Gonzales in four rounds on Saturday.

Super-middleweight DeGale, the 2008 Olympic gold medallist, seemed keen to make an impression in front of nearly 80,000 fans at Wembley, throwing shots from the opening bell before eventually dropping Gonzales in the fourth, with the referee ultimately stepping in to prevent the American from receiving any further punishment.

"I’m going to have to watch it back," DeGale told Sky Sports, when asked if he thought the stoppage had been premature. "I hit him with some good clean shots, but he was hurt, he was hurt."

The victory sets up the prospect of another massive domestic fight within the next few months, although such things rarely end up being straightforward in the unpredictable world of boxing.

But with Eddie Hearn the promoter of all three of the potential protagonists, it would seem he is ideally placed to arrange another big date in British boxing history.

"The winner has to fight James DeGale," Hearn said. "It’s another big fight for Britain."

On this evidence, DeGale will pose a genuine challenge to whoever he faces, although Gonzales—unbeaten in his 20 professional fights—failed to really get into the contest before being thoroughly punched out of it.

Having lost to Groves just over three years ago, a result that sent their respective careers in differing directions, DeGale had more reason than normal to be driven to produce a victory that would kick his career into the world title bracket.

Perhaps that is why the Olympian came roaring out of the gate, stunning Gonzales in more ways than one with a flurry of early punches. The first round was remarkably one-sided: The only thing missing was a knockdown.

Gonzales, after words from his trainer, Virgil Hunter, put on a better account of himself in the second and third rounds, hitting back at DeGale as both fighters suffered some mild bruising around their eyes.

In the fourth round, however, DeGale got the eye-catching stoppage that will help build the hype for whatever fight is to come. A glorious combination and vicious left-hook put Gonzales on the canvas, as he struggled to compose himself even after getting to his feet before the five-count.

DeGale smelled blood, however, and was all over Gonzales as soon as the referee allowed the fight to resume. "Chunky" tried to finish the fight with one final haymaker but was still trying to find the connection when the referee stepped in out of concerns for the American's safety.

The finish was somewhat controversial, but the result is interesting. DeGale could be next for Froch or Groves, where he could become the first British Olympic gold medallist to go on and lift a professional world title.

Is he ready for that?

"100 per cent," DeGale said. "You’ve seen the last couple of fights. Final eliminator, mandated."

"That was a good, good fighter [Gonzales]. I’m ready for the winner: Froch, Groves, I’m ready."

"I don’t care [who wins]. I’ll deal with both of them."

All quotes taken from Sky Box Office's live broadcast.

If the Carl "The Cobra" Froch vs. George Groves rematch features as many real punches as virtual jabs during the lead-up to the bout, it should be a slugfest.

In the brawl that seems certain to break out in the ring at the legendary Wembley Stadium, the Cobra's strike will prove the most deadly—in the sporting sense of the term.

After their first bout ended controversially, WBA and IBF super middleweight champion Froch wants to prove he is the better boxer without question.

Many believe Froch received a break when his bout with Groves was stopped in the ninth round back in Nov. 2013.

Froch had hurt Groves, but the challenger hardly looked out on his feet when Howard Foster called an end to the fight.

Groves had dropped Froch in the first round and was ahead on points on all three scorecards at the time of the stoppage. Almost immediately after the bout, Groves began demanding a rematch.

To put it mildly, Groves has been confident that he'll not only beat Froch but stop him.

On Thursday at a pre-fight press conference, Groves likened Froch to a man on death row, per Gareth A Davies of the Telegraph:

[...] I don't need to antagonise Carl Froch. I want him to be at peace because it is dawning on him that his day of reckoning is fast approaching. He is going to have to face the inevitable.

He is like a man on death row and I can't imagine that would be very nice.

Kevin Mitchell of the Guardian didn't care for Groves' choice of words. He wrote:

Boxing is not a landscape with many boundaries. So, when George Groves stepped across one of them into a very ugly place by telling Carl Froch he was “a man on death row” in the final hours before their world title fight at Wembley Stadium on Saturday night, the opprobrium that flew his way was considerable and justified – and there is a chance the clever young Londoner has thrown one barb too many.

Indeed, Groves' chatter is pretty tough talk. But I think we all know he didn't mean that in the literal sense. There's no more reality in his metaphorical reference than there is in the relation between Froch and a real cobra.

It's all boxing talk and that should be kept in the proper perspective.

Groves certainly earned the right to speak so confidently. In all honesty, he may very well have won the first fight if he survived the ninth round.

That said, there's little doubt Groves began to tire late in the fight. He had rocked and surprised Froch with his speed and power early on. However, Froch is tough as nails.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kskr90fDzL4

He took the shot, got up and didn't seem to be in danger of being stopped the rest of the way, though he was losing the fight.

Around the seventh round, the momentum began to shift.

Groves' stamina seemed to wane and Froch took advantage in the ninth round. Often times, a fighter can surprise an opponent, jump on them early and win. But when the fighter in the advantageous position fails to finish, he runs the risk of having his opponent adjust and change the momentum.

It happened to Manny Pacquiao in his first fight with Juan Manuel Marquez, and it could be argued that it was about to happen to Groves in his first fight with Froch.

This will be the grandest stage either has competed on, but with years of world championship experience under his belt, Froch should have an edge.

He also can draw confidence off the fact that he had his man in trouble before the referee stopped the bout. It's true, Groves' trash talk has gotten under Froch's skin.

The champion hired a mind coach to help him deal with Groves' head games. 

Developments such as this make it easy to lean toward Groves as the winner in this bitter contest. But conventional wisdom says the veteran pulls it together and takes the young challenger into deep water late in the fight.

A late-round stoppage will silence Groves—at least as it pertains to this rivalry—once and for all.

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@BMaziqueFPBR

"Saint" George Groves is like boxing's version of Richard Sherman—at least when it comes to his rivalry with WBA and IBF super middleweight champion Carl "The Cobra" Froch. But like Sherman, Groves will have to prove he's the man when it's time to perform.

The two fighters from England will do battle for the second time on Saturday at Wembley Stadium.

Groves is quite the trash-talker and antagonist. His demeanor makes you think he could do well as a heel in the WWE. Before the first bout with Froch, Groves agitated the champion with his demeanor, insults and lack of respect for the 36-year-old.

He's even calling his shot ahead of the bout. Per BBC Sports, Groves said: "It'll be the left hook that finishes Carl Froch on Saturday. Anyone who's watched the workouts will know we've been working on left hooks and the left hook will work."

The 26-year-old Groves should effectively look up to Froch—and he probably does—but he'd never let him know that. That would potentially surrender the mental edge he seems to have over his opponent.

In their first bout, Groves surprised Froch with his speed and punching power. He dropped Froch in the first round and gave him real trouble. The wily and tough veteran escaped but was still being outboxed through the first six rounds.

In the seventh, things began to change a little. Groves began to tire and Froch gained some momentum. In the ninth round, Froch hit Groves with a shot that hurt him. The challenger covered and took a few more around his guards. He looked far from finished when referee Howard John Foster jumped in to call a halt to the bout.

It was a controversial ending, to say the least.

While Froch emerged with the win, the annoyance from Groves didn't go away. Now his rival had real substance to point to when he suggests he is the better man.

Froch badly wants to silence Groves once and for all. This dynamic and series of events is precisely what makes this rivalry so compelling.

James Dudko of B/R wrote: "Froch's clash with George Groves is currently the best reason to watch British Boxing. This is a genuinely intense rivalry between two solid fighters at different ends of the age and stylistic spectrum."

The champion's nerves are disturbed heading into this bout, and he realizes he must do something to get a handle on things. He hired Manchester United's mind coach Chris Marshall, per Jeff Powell of the Daily Mail.

Talk about giving the antagonist some fuel. Here's what Groves said after hearing of the addition to Froch's team, per Powell: "He’s getting help trying to control himself but it’s not a psychologist he needs. It’s a psychiatrist."

As much as Groves is winning the battle of words, he's going to have to win the real fight on Saturday. Even though he fought well against Froch the first time, there is still room for improvement. 

Had he not allowed The Cobra to escape in the first round, there wouldn't have been a controversial ending. Also, Groves must address his stamina issue. He simply didn't have the life or snap on his punches after the sixth round.

Froch is a finely conditioned athlete and an old pro. He'll have some reserve left in the tank. If need be, Froch will be looking to take his opponent out into deep waters to drown him late in the fight.

Lastly, the bout takes place at one of the largest venues in the country. Is Groves really ready for this atmosphere?

Per BBC Sport, Groves said, "I'm going to go out and perform on Saturday night and become world champion and do it on the big stage looking very good doing it."

We'll find out on Saturday. When the fight is over, Groves' talk will either be cheap or prophetic.

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@BMaziqueFPBR

The British public will see a rematch of Carl Froch's stirring TKO victory over George Groves six months ago.  In handing Groves his first career loss, Froch retained the WBA and IBA super middleweight titles, cementing his status as the best fighter in his weight class.

Nevertheless, the feisty 26-year-old clearly believes it is his time to unseat the veteran champion, based on his undaunted pre-fight bluster.  Groves, still appearing miffed at referee Howard Foster's decision to stop the fight in the ninth round, expressed to The Guardian's Paul Campbell his unwavering belief he is the superior fighter:

"Technically, in a purely boxing sense, I'll beat Carl Froch every day of the week," says Groves. "If he wants to fall apart mentally, so be it. I'm going to do what I do and I don't think Carl could last three rounds at that pace."

Groves has not backed off his bold stance since.  At the final pre-fight press conference, the Manchester boxer even went as far as to describe the exact method by which he predicts he'll win:

The 36-year-old Froch remains the favorite, however, and has expressed the same self-assuredness coming off the victory in the first fight.  Froch was floored by a massive right hook from Groves in the first round but rebounded with a steady assault on the body to use the younger fighter's aggression against him.

Nevertheless, after being stunned in the first fight, Froch is leaving nothing to chance.  According to The Independent's Alan Hubbard, Froch visited a sports psychologist before the bout in an effort to set his mind straight for the loquacious Groves:

Mentally I was not at the races. Physically I was in good shape but mentally I wasn't doing what I needed to do, I had let that idiot boy get under my skin.

He did a good job on me because when I got into the ring after listening to his rubbish, all I wanted to do was punch his face in instead of boxing him. I'm not going to let it happen again.

In truth, Froch did not fight particularly well for the majority of the first meeting, allowing Groves to repeatedly push him onto the ropes.  Regardless of what effect Groves' hubris had on Froch, there are no excuses for his inability to move the younger fighter off his front foot and counter earlier.

Indeed, Froch is fortunate that Groves failed to pace himself adequately.  The veteran's superior fitness allowed him to move well in the middle rounds as Groves' punches lost their power, forcing the latter to fight off his back foot when he had little gas left.  As such, Groves' pacing might actually be the key to the result:

While Groves' potential appears irrepressible, Froch still possesses the savvy to control this fight.  If Groves learns from the first fight, Froch could still emerge victorious by being more active instead of hedging so much against the counter.  He appeared to respect Groves' speed a bit too much the first fight, which resulted in a passive approach that failed to dictate the tempo.

Groves fought the first fight on his own terms until he wore down, after which Froch's grittiness carried him through.  At least one veteran boxer is hoping that Froch's toughness gets rewarded once again:

It's unclear how much Froch has left, and if Groves pounces upon him once again, he'll surely be more measured in going for the knockout rather than recklessly charging for the head.  The world champion cannot fight so long on the defensive again, as Groves' power makes that a perilous proposition.

Regardless, the contrast in styles means that a convincing argument could be made for either fighter.  Nothing appears guaranteed in Wembley on Saturday night, as the initial tempo will provide some more clarity for a wide range of possibilities.  Based on each fighter's confidence, expect a pair of resilient boxers to put on a classic fight for the super middleweight belts.

This fight is kind of a big deal. 

Not since Chris Eubank and Nigel Benn waged boxing war during the 1990s have two English fighters had such a bitter and compelling rivalry.

On Saturday, "Saint" George Groves (19-1, 15 KO) and IBF and WBA super middleweight champion Carl "The Cobra" Froch (32-2, 23 KO) will do battle in one of the country's most iconic sports venues, Wembley Stadium.

It's the second meeting between the two. Froch and Groves battled in Nov. 2013, and the fight was both exciting and controversial.

Groves dropped the champion in the first round with a hard right hand. Froch got up, but it took him about half a round to regain his complete wherewithal. Even after that, Groves seemed to be in control.

That lasted until the eighth round, when Froch began to shift the momentum. In the ninth, Froch caught Groves with a power shot, which hurt the challenger.

Groves began to cover up. He took a couple of shots around his guard but nothing that looked catastrophic. Peculiarly, referee Howard John Foster stopped the bout, awarding Froch the TKO win.

To say the stoppage seemed premature is an understatement.

From the excitement, the subsequent war of words and the controversy, this big-time rematch has been born.

For fight fans, this is a must-see fight.

American fans will be treated to a dynamic doubleheader, as Nonito Donaire will also challenge WBA featherweight champion Simpiwe Vetyeka.

Here's how you can watch.

When: Saturday, May 28 at 4:45 p.m. ET

Where: Wembley Stadium in London

TV: HBO

Live Stream: Box Nation (subscription required and region restricted)

The Book on Groves

How good of a trash-talker is Groves? When your opponent has to hire a mind coach to keep himself from being agitated, I'd say you're pretty effective at getting under your foe's skin.

Per Jeff Powell of the Daily Mail, Froch hired Manchester United mind coach Chris Marshall to help him focus on the fight and not his bitter battle of words with Groves.

A good trash-talker even has a comeback for that. Per Powell, Groves said, "He’s getting help trying to control himself but it’s not a psychologist he needs. It’s a psychiatrist."

As Paul Campbell of The Guardian states, at some point, Groves will need to walk the walk: "If the contest was about self-assurance, it would go the distance, but this rematch is not about words; it's about skill, speed, determination, durability and who gets the little bit of luck they need on the night."

The last time out, Groves walked just fine. But he did let The Cobra off the hook. Froch was badly hurt in the first round. Groves' inability to finish is what opened the door for the controversial result.

If he gets Froch in trouble in the rematch, he can't allow him to weather the storm.

The Book on Froch

It's safe to say Froch doesn't like Groves very much. You get the feeling there's no sincere ill will from Groves, but Froch seems genuinely peeved by his younger challenger's tactics.

In a sport where respect is so important to athletes, Groves gives very little to his countryman and elder.

Froch wants to shut up the unruly young Groves once and for all.

Froch told Powell the following about his hiring of Marshall: "I was guilty of letting George’s nonsense get to me first time out. I just wanted to flatten him. I needed to remind myself that it’s called boxing, not street-fighting. If an expert can be of assistance with that, why not?"

Whatever works. And no matter what anyone thinks about the first fight, Froch was officially called the winner.

He's still the champion and one of the pound-for-pound best in the sport. This mega-attraction is exactly the type of fight Froch (36 years old) wants to have in the waning years of his career.

Can he overcome the psychological edge Groves has over him to obtain glory?

Predictions

Groves' speed and power seemed to surprise Froch early on in the first fight. The challenger was able to reach the target and hurt the champion.

As the fight went on, Froch adjusted to the power and the speed. He still deserved to be down on points when the stoppage came, but he was in position to shift the tide. Groves seemed a little spent from the seventh round on.

Because of the way the fight ended, Froch has a slight edge heading into the rematch. That's assuming he doesn't begin to show more of his age in the bout. Groves has never fought in front of a crowd like the one he'll see at Wembley.

Froch has been around, and he's had invaluable experience in world championship fights. That will likely be the difference for him in the rematch.

Groves will probably do the exact opposite of what he's been saying he'll do. Instead of being aggressive early, he'll lay back and attempt to counter Froch.

Ultimately, it's going to come down to a slugfest. When that happens, Froch is simply the tougher of the two.

We've seen him rise up off the canvas. We've seen him take big shots from proven punchers. He'll stop Groves from a combination exhaustion and cumulative punishment.

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@BMaziqueFPBR

In years to come, Carl Froch and George Groves will probably reflect that they were the best things that ever happened to each other.

After years of tough fights at world-title level, Froch finally has a dance partner who interests the British public and against whom he can earn the kind of pay-per-view money his friend and contemporary, David Haye, enjoyed in his heavyweight run.

As a young fighter looking to prove his mettle, Groves has the perfect opportunity against Froch on Saturday, an opponent well-known to fight fans as a tough, top-level guy, but over whom Groves has significant stylistic advantages.

For now, however, the two men are locked in acrimony, counting the days before they can assert themselves as Britain's premier super middleweight, and all at the expense of the vanity and well-being of the other.

When domestic rivals square off there is a contest beyond the match won and lost in the ring, and that is the one held in the court of public opinion—to be more popular, better liked, the moral victor.

The first Froch-Groves fight was the perfect example of this. Groves had been seen as arrogant and disrespectful in the buildup, a cocky upstart somewhat delusional about his own abilities. Consequently, he was booed into the ring.

When Groves' predictions came true to an impressive extent in the opening rounds and he found success with the jab and the overhand right—sensationally flooring Froch in Round 1—the crowd realised that, upstart or not, Groves had not been exaggerating his fighting calibre.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zTArECAlRr8

After Howard Foster's untimely intervention in Round 9, Groves was cheered out of the arena as a courageous underdog who had blitzed his way into boxing's top circle before being denied the chance of victory by an overzealous official.

Meanwhile, Froch gave post-fight interviews praising Foster's call which were a little dismissive of the fans' new favourite and refused to forgive Groves for his pre-fight antics.

Froch was at least mildly concussed when talking after the fight, but few gave him the benefit of the doubt for his words. If the public had been 80-20 in favour of Froch before the fight, they now seemed 80-20 for Groves.

As with popular acclaim, Groves won the battle of psychological warfare last time around, having riled his opponent by spending the buildup undermining Froch's ring record and confidently asserting that victory would be his.

Froch recently told the Nottingham Post:

"I carried a lot of anger into the first fight with George and it certainly impacted on my performance. He got under my skin and when I was inside the ring, I just wanted to fight him rather than box him."

The way Froch was caught in the first round—bombing forward after Groves had started well, leaving himself wide open—could well be interpreted as the mistake of a fighter fighting on pride rather than strategy.

As to the question of whether Froch out and out hates his young challenger, he was clearly angered by the way Groves demeaned his record, even if Groves was only adding legitimate questions marks to Froch's performances against the likes of Jermain Taylor and Andre Dirrell.

Froch sees Groves as someone who is trying to pull the rug on his career achievements and legacy. He is also a little bemused, even a little hurt, as to how the 26-year-old won the crowd and the plaudits after a fight where Froch showed superhuman powers of recovery to get back into the contest and force the (controversial) stoppage.

In the other direction, there is definite animosity from Groves toward Froch, but it is perhaps simply because Froch is the man who stands in his way rather than any personal complaint he has against the champion.

Groves has a certain spitefulness to him, some unnamed grievance with the world at large, which may be an unattractive personal quality, yet no bad thing in a hungry young challenger.

Another British super middleweight who caused a stir, Chris Eubank, remembers later in his career being told by Prince Charles, "You know, Chris, I can't believe how much you've mellowed" — the Groves of 2014 is decidedly on the unmellowed side.

Recognising that Groves had bested him in the mental warfare before, Froch has been seeing a psychologist in preparation for the rematch.

In the many promotional appearances this time around a more composed and restrained Froch has appeared. He is still palpably bothered by Groves, but to some extent, he has regained control of the situation so that Groves and his taunts begin to look a little silly.

A telling exchange came on the Sky Sports faceoff when mediator Johnny Nelson asked for fight predictions:

Groves: "I will knock Carl Froch out on May 31st, and I'll tell you which punch I'm gonna do it with on fight week."

Froch: "Let me guess—it's gonna be a left or a right."

Groves tried to plant a seed of doubt in Froch's mind that he had the killer punch all planned out, but the Nottingham man didn't take the bait, instead keeping cool and coming back with a tongue-in-cheek remark.

The faceoff and the buildup more generally are rather reminiscent of David Haye vs. Wladimir Klitschko, with the older champion visibly annoyed by the London arriviste but still able to keep it together.

In fight week for that one, Haye and his entourage, which included Groves and trainer Paddy Fitzpatrick, were convinced that they had Klitschko's number, having played game after game in a windup campaign that frequently went below the belt. Klitschko won anyway.

There is more than a hint that Groves is a little too caught up in his ideas of psychological warfare, especially with his mantra, "Everything for a Reason," which sounds like something from a Californian self-help charlatan.

Fitzpatrick told Steve Bunce on his ESPN podcast, that, after consulting a psychologist and a psychiatrist, they concluded Froch was, "More traumatised in the sixth than any other round...if his mind goes back to that round again, the trauma will be triggered."

The No. 6 is another Groves meme, with the underlying belief that they can revive this "trauma" in Froch. This one is plain laughable. Froch was hurt in that round, but traumatised people don't tend to bite down on their gumshield and fight back convincingly enough for the referee to step in to their favour.

It will now be interesting to see how the fans split their affections on the night. After last time, you would expect a pro-Groves crowd, especially in his hometown of London. But the exhausting intensity of his press antics may have begun to swing people back toward Froch.

For all the bluster, the facts remain the same. Groves is faster and can beat Froch to the punch, especially with the overhand right which finds its home past Froch's low-held left. Froch has deeper reserves of stamina, and unless Groves conserves his energy better this time, he will be in trouble down the stretch.

Groves does have very good power, but Froch has more than very good punch resistance. Last time, Groves decked him with a monster shot—but Froch got up. Groves is predicting an early KO win, even though he couldn't manage it when he hit Froch with a blow he didn't see, and harder than Froch thought he could punch.

In Round 6, Groves unloaded perhaps the heaviest bombardment of punches seen in 2013—and Froch stayed on his feet. Unless Froch sustained long-term damage, it is hard to see him being stopped this time.

If Groves boxes cautiously, picking his spots and only using as much energy as required to win rounds, he should be able to win a decision. However, if he tries to enact his bold words (which he did follow through on last time), he may play into Froch's hands by emptying his tank.

After years of one-sided megafights involving Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao (and never both), it is refreshing to have such a competitive encounter capturing the imagination and attracting 80,000 fans to the stadium and many more on pay-per-view.

This one is genuinely too close to call, and it is difficult to imagine the fight passing without serious drama. And whatever the result, it would be no surprise to see a third bout and the rivalry continue.

Carl Froch vs. George Groves II airs Saturday, May 31 live on HBO from Wembley Stadium in London. The telecast begins at 4:00 p.m. ET/PT