A very interested observer of the George Groves vs Callum Smith World Boxing Super Series final will be James DeGale. The Olympic gold medallist might have vacated his IBF super-middleweight title but remains a significant name in the division.
Groves is the WBA super-middleweight world champion and has been on form in this tournament, as even DeGale, despite being a long-standing rival of Groves, has to admit. The comparison between their two semi-finals prompted DeGale to change his prediction for the final.
“I think it’s a real good fight,” DeGale told Boxing News. “A real intriguing, interesting fight. I’ve always said Callum Smith will win the Super Series but I’m not too sure. Going by both their performances, you’d have to say Groves. As I say it’s a good fight, an entertaining fight. We’ll see who wins.”
If he had to go for a winner he would tip George Groves to beat Callum Smith. “You’d have to say Groves,” DeGale explained.
“I’ve always said Smith but I think I’m going to go back on myself. You’d have to say Groves is the favourite. Then again if you go by his last performances, him against [Chris] Eubank [Junior], Eubank is a good fighter but he’s not that technical, he’s a bit wild, a bit reckless. Relies on his fitness, do you know what I’m saying. So there’s not much there with Eubank. But he’s got a lot of that like his father. But that was a good win because of the way George Groves dealt with it. Then you go on to Callum Smith against a kickboxer [Nieky Holzken]. He didn’t struggle but he went 12 rounds. So you’d have to go with Groves.”
