George Groves is raring to go ahead of his Las Vegas world title bout with Badou Jack in the early hours of Sunday morning.
Hammersmith’s Groves will fight on the undercard to Floyd Mayweather Jr’s ‘final’ bout against the relatively unheralded Andre Berto, which could see him equal Rocky Marciano’s perfect, unprecedented 49-0 before retiring.
But Groves will be fighting for the WBC super middleweight title against Swedish-born Jack, who has fought with Mayweather Promotions since 2012 and won the belt against Andre Dirrell in April.
Many view Groves as favourite against Jack, a stark difference to his previous world title bids, in which he was twice the underdog to Carl Froch.
Groves has been training at altitude and in relative isolation for seven weeks at The Summit Gym in rural California, home of middleweight kingpin Gennady Golovkin, and believes the reduced media scrutiny has relieved the intense pressure he faced during the build up to his domestic battles with Froch.
“It’s obviously exciting to fight in Vegas and be part of a big show at the MGM Grand but in terms of pressure it doesn’t compare to anything I’ve faced back in the UK,” he wrote in his latest blog post.
“I don’t want Badou Jack to hear the final bell. I don’t know when, don’t know where, don’t particularly care but it will come, and I’m looking forward to it.”
Jack, known more for his defensive capabilities, tweeted: “Expect fireworks Saturday night.”
The fight gets underway from 1am BST.
Feature image courtesy of Sky Sports, via Youtube, with thanks
