Former 3 time world title challenger George Groves (21-3, 16KOs ) of UK returns to the ring this Saturday. Groves will take on Andrea Di Luisa (18-3, 14KOs ) of Italy. The bout will take place at the Copper Box Arena, Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, n Hackney Wick, London. The bout will be a scheduled for 12 round super middleweight bout. The event will be promoted by Eddie Hearn (Matchroom Boxing) and Groves’ promoter Wilfried Sauerland (Sauerland Event). with Sky Sports televising the card.
Most fighters don’t even get one chance at a world title but Groves has had three opportunities and now going for 4. His first two cracks at the crown against then champ Carl Froch were instant classics. Groves seemed on his way to upsetting Froch in their first fight when the fight by many was stopped prematurely. There was such an uproar by the fans and many media that a rematch was eventually put in place. The buzz from the first fight creating a huge buzz for the second fight. This was evident by the reported 80 thousand fans that attended. This was truly a historic night but not a story book ending for Groves as he was clearly knocked out this time with no controversy. He would travel to the states for his third opportunity against current WBC champ Badou Jack. Groves dug himself in an early hole being dropped in round 1. He would fight himself back into the fight to make it a very closely scored fight by the judges. In the end the end Jack held onto his title by split decision.
George defeating Di Luisa is expected as Groves is a heavy favorite. Di Luisa’s biggest name on his resume is that of former world champion Lucian Bute who stopped him in round 4. In fact all of Di Luisa’s losses have come back way of knockout. Groves has switched trainers and is now with Shane McGuigan. His biggest client for sure is current unbeaten world champion Carl Frampton. Ideally it would be nice if Di Luisa was a bit more durable so that Groves could work on some of the new things he and McGuigan have been practicing in the gym. Groves to his credit does not seem to be discouraged by coming up short in all three of his world title fights which have resulted in his only losses as a professional. The funny thing about it is if Groves wins the world title on his fourth attempt the other three failures could likely be irrelevant to many.
