George Groves on Future of Dave Allen and ‘Influencers’ Eubank Jr and Conor Benn

In an exclusive interview with BetOnlinePromoCodes.com, our resident boxing interviewer Owen Fulda sat down with ex-boxer George Groves.

The former world champ had his say on what’s next for Dave Allen after his dazzling knockout win over Johnny Fisher. He also reveals why he thinks Chris Eubank Jr and Conor Benn fit into the ‘influencer boxing’ category.

Question: What did you make of Dave Allen’s stoppage win over Johnny Fisher in their rematch?

George Groves:  Dave Allen is very experienced. He’s good at what he does but there’s a lot of missing chinks in his armor. Whether that be his mindset, his dedication, his conditioning, stuff like that. But he’s clever and he’s boxed at a higher level, of course and won some, lost some. The first fight out in Saudi there were variables, wasn’t there? There were excuses for Johnny Fisher, if you will. Like he was fighting away from home when he is usually in front of a large crowd. I know he does so much interaction with his friends, families, fans, which can be distracting to say the least. It can also be exhausting. And I think those guys, getting them to Saudi Arabia, making sure they’re taken care of, making sure they’ve had a good time. Big John takes care of a lot of that and his other family and team do as well, certainly there’s an element of that falls on Johnny’s shoulders.

But this time he took himself away. I think he was in Vegas training a lot of the time. Conditioning wise, he looked really good, like his body looked like it had matured during this camp. But it wasn’t meant to be for him. He made some adjustments, which I felt were quite good, but the pressure’s on and to settle into a fight, that’s what you’ve got to do. You’ve got to settle in and get comfortable with Dave Allen. Dave Allen is a fighter who, he’s not fussed, he is not bothered, he’s not nervous as such. Everything’s a bonus for him, isn’t it? Because he has been in there when he’s supposed to get beat and he has been beat, he’s been beaten up. He’s been thrown to the wolves at times, so everything’s a bonus.

And there was that comfort from where they sparred before. They’re talking about when they sparred and back then Fisher Junior was a novice and Allen controlled the spar. I think Darren Barker was talking about it. He was probably coaching Allen at the time and having that, going into a fight when you’ve been dominant in sparring always plays a part, plays a factor. Sometimes it can backfire because the guy you’re in there with has actually made some massive improvements and what you’re expecting you do not get. You get something much better. But the relaxed nature of Allen, just the way that he’s just calm. He’s calm under fire, but he was also calm when he was pressing. He literally got to Fisher, who after a few rounds, I felt like he settled into the fight. He started doing well. He was picking up body shots and he wasn’t tightening up with him. He wasn’t gassing. The chin was coming up a bit high. He was leaving that left hand out there a little bit too long at times.

But you can’t fault Allen in terms of the shots that he landed, put together and the finish absolutely was exquisite. He goes, he goes right body then left body and he just whips that left hook on the chin. Against a guy who is ready for the taking at that point. He’s been down, he’s got up, catch you on the bell face first. Fortunately he says that doesn’t hit his head off the canvas. It goes down, but he goes down hard. The towel came in. It was on the bell. Fisher didn’t beat the count, he wouldn’t have beaten the count. For a really likable, popular fighter like him, in hindsight he’d say that was terrible matchmaking because he shouldn’t have gone in for that immediate rematch. But there’ll be business at hand. They’d know by making this fight again, it’ll be a big fight. He’ll make a lot of money. But that fight will always be there for him and you have to have an eye on the future. You have to back yourself for the future. So you say right, the wheels might come off. I might get beat again, and then that fight might not be there. But for me, the best move, if I was looking after Fisher, would’ve been to go back to the drawing board, get him another win. Maybe even another win after that and then revisit Allen. But easier said than done.

Q: So now you think he’ll take a step back and then come back in a fight that he’s going to be much more, you know?

A: I think he should have a rest. A chap said to me recently, he’s a trainer and was talking about rematches. He said never return to the scene of a crime. People thought Johnny Fisher was lucky to get the win in the first fight and he maybe returned to the scene of the crime and paid the price. Froch returned to the scene of the crime and he got away with the crime! He stole the crown jewels that night. So maybe that’s not always the best advice!

I think he should have a rest from boxing now because it would’ve been a really intense period of his life. After the first fight, the camp that would’ve gone into place and to have got no satisfaction really with a win. Again, referring back to myself, if I’m talking about the two Froch fights I had, I then went straight back in three months later, world title eliminator fighting for a European title.

I was much further along in my career than Fisher was. But there is that urge to chase something, that urge to think I’ve got to make up for lost time. But if I think Johnny Fisher needs, not too long of a rest, but have a break. Have a total break from boxing. Get back in the gym and improve and make the improvements.

Q: Speaking of returning to the scene of the crime, Conor Benn is desperate for the rematch with Chris Eubank Junior according to Eddie Hearn. You’ve advised Eubank Jr to retire but that rematch money is a huge carrot, isn’t it? 

A: Of course. And he’s gonna take it and the fight’s gonna happen. And we’re gonna watch the return. But, if it was a movie. What are we gonna see in the sequel? They didn’t leave it open-ended. There was no controversy. Did we see anything different? What sort of a fight was it? It was a custom made fight, wasn’t it? Because of their dad’s history. Their dad’s past , their dad’s rivalry.

It was forced upon them to then become rivals when they were never even in the same division. Obviously the positive drugs tests from Conor Benn, and then the saga that followed has really intensified this. But we’ve had every bit of drama we possibly could. Nigel Benn played his part brilliantly. Conor Benn played his part brilliantly. The Eubanks in general, it’s never straightforward with them. Is sr gonna show up? Of course he’s gonna show up! He got out of the cab first, before his son. We’ve had everything now. I don’t see what kind of drama they have left to script anymore.

Q: Will it live up to the first fight?

A: The first fight was entertaining. It was very entertaining. But, we might just watch another entertaining fight, and maybe that’s plenty enough, that’s more than enough for us. But ultimately, when you break it down, it’s not sport anymore, is it? And if sport in its essence is about seeing the best fight the best and seeing the best guys perform, then it’s not it. This is more like influencer boxing. And they would be really good influencer boxers. Conor Benn looks cool. He’s driving around in a brand new Rolls Royce that he says he was paid for with Eubanks weight failing. He dyed his hair like Sisqo, looks the part. If they do fight again, it will be another big fight.

I don’t think the rematch will be as big as the first match. They’re talking about having it at Tottenham again in September. So it’s a wonderful place to have it, and if they do have it, it’ll be great. Because there’ll be loads of buildup. Boxing fans will be interested. But can we see something different? Will it be a similar fight and Conor Benn wins?

Q: Another potential fight is Chris Eubank Jr vs Canelo, and Amir Khan thinks Eubank Jr could cause Canelo some serious problems..

A: No, he can’t. Eubank Jr is way past his best. Eubank Jr vs Conor Benn was an 80-20 fight, right? But when we watched it, it was a 50-50 fight and the caveat was that there had to be some sort of handicap element to even the score, because Conor Benn’s coming up in weight and Eubank Jr is tight in the weight to say the least. And if anything, he’s way past his best. He showed a couple of chinks in the armour along the way. I thought the fight before out in Saudi, didn’t really set the world of light. And in this fight. He had to leave his heart and soul in the ring to win on the night. And that was great for us to watch ringside.

Brilliant. But if you are Eubank, why not just go out on that amazing high? You’ve beaten what is now your rival in a stadium. With people on your side, people cheering for you, people happy for you. It might not last forever. If he fights Canelo, great, it’s up at 168. He hasn’t got a worry about cutting to 160.  You don’t have to put up the videos of him sweating out in the sauna suit, which you’re not allowed to do. You can’t do that Eubank! The British Boxing Board of Control should have pulled the fight. They should have canceled that fight as soon as they saw that. It’s against the rules, you can’t post videos of you losing weight like that and still box. But there was too much money on the line. I guarantee if someone did that on the undercard, they would not be boxing that night.

So up at 168, there’s no disgrace in losing to Canelo and it might be another monster payday. That would be the only option for Eubank Jr. There’s no one else out there who is allowed to get beat to. And sure, have the rematch with Conor Benn for the money. But you might be rolling the dice on not winning and getting beat and then it’s another loss on your record.

Q: Did you catch any of the MisFits card with Darren Till and WakeyWines on there? Do you think it can be taken a bit more seriously or do you think having WakeyWines on there is just diminishing any credibility that it might have not had or might have once had?

A: Good for WakeyWines. Like, I don’t mind the influence of boxing, to be honest. If they are influencing people and they’re attracting them to boxing. I think that it’s still a light years away from professional boxing.

And therefore people, even the younger generation, the teenagers now will know the difference between this one and this one. And ultimately, if it inspires them to get in the gym and get fit and healthy, even if it’s not to become a professional boxer one day, boxing’s good. Boxing’s really good for a lot of people who are suffering, or need a bit of clarity or direction.

I think we’re not far off a proper crossover soon, where you’re gonna get ex pros who are not like Mike Tyson, but people who can’t compete anymore in boxing. You had Idris Virgo and Ty Mitchell who were both pros, who I don’t think we’re that great. But now they’re on the MisFits cards. Idris Virgo, I saw he was on Love Island and then when I saw him fight as a pro, I thought he was decent.

But ultimately, if you’re not good enough to make serious money in pro boxing, and you’ve got a particular look and you are willing to behave a particular way then why not fight in MisFits.

Q: Manny Pacquiao is coming out of retirement aged 46 to fight WBC welterweight champ Mario Barrios. Fans and analysts have even labelled the fight as embarrassing for boxing. What’s your take?

A: He’s putting us all to shame, doing that at 46. He’s not calling out Jake Paul. He wanted a proper fight. He’s been a freak of nature. There’s been a lot of stuff coming up on my feed with people questioning Manny Pacquiao. But he was a phenomenal athlete, a freak of nature. And as far as I’m aware, never tested positive or anything, so he can’t say that he wasn’t legitimate. But you would say what he did was a freak of nature.

He must fancy his chances at a world title. I don’t know what sort of shape he’ll be in. It’ll be a shame if he’s really deteriorated, then we see him box. Because you see that time and time again where fighters have a little break come back and then they’re nowhere near the same. Then they have to hold their hands up and own up. One springs to mind would be like Ricky Hatton, who had his comeback. David Haye was the same. But you can’t say the same for Pacquiao, you never know.

Q: Tank Davis and Lamont Roach having their rematch set for August 16th, remember the controversy in the first one with the grease in the eye and then the, was a majority draw in the end, wasn’t it? Is your money on Tank to get his redemption? 

A: I mean he’s an incredible fighter Tank Davis, but the bits that I see, how dedicated is he to boxing? I’m sure he must be still living the life. But I remember when I watched it, he touches down, but it’s not a knock down. The referee doesn’t score it a knock down. But I suppose if you’re going by the rules, if your glove touches the floor, you count it a knock down. So it’s a strange one. He made a bizarre decision at that point.

Just follow the rules. If the rules are, you knee touch the floor it’s a knock down, then you have to score it a knock down. Should just try and fly out to the end of the round. You only got one eye.

Q: Do you think the lightweight division is one of the most exciting divisions inboxing at the moment?

A: It’s a great division. It is. It’s a really, really good division. I’d like to see him all fight

Q: Top selling PPVs of all time, can you figure it out? 

A: Floyd? Floyd versus Manny Pacquiao.

(Owen: 4.6 million.)

A: Floyd versus Conor McGregor..

You had Floyd Vs Oscar De La Hoya?

(Owen: 3.6 million.) 

A: And yeah, number four Floyd again…. Ah, Canelo.

(Owen: He’s got it. And number five, Tyson Holyfield 2. 1.95 million.)

A: That is a huge fight. A huge fight at the time. Wonder how much pay-per-view was back then?

(Owen: Probably still 20 quid, 25 probably)

Q: Boxing fans seem convinced that Tyson Fury will be coming out of retirement again – who do you want to see him fight?

A: I wanna see him fighting N’Ganu in a cage. How about that, ey? Would you pay for that? If they said, you can’t get on the Firesticks, there’s 25 quid. Alright fine, I’d pay for that.I like that fight. I think Ngannou got in the boxing ring with Fury and didn’t win, but maybe should have won? Fury was all over the shop that night.

Fury is malleable, isn’t he? You can imagine that he might be a handful in a cage with those tiny little gloves on. If he can work on a few defenses. He’s agile on his feet. You think with some of those big guys, like Derek Chisora, you get them on their back and they might be like a turtle. I know he’s super fit now so I might be doing him injustice. But some of those other big guys, they might be brittle. Even though they’re explosive, like Deontay Wilder. He’s just too gangly. Someone’s gonna grab his arm and bend him up or something. Catch an ankle.

I think Fury. He’s a bit like an eel, isn’t he? You can’t get hold of him. Slippery, long eel. I’d like to see him fight Ngannou. Obviously. If it’s not that, then the only person he can fight is Anthony Joshua. And I’d like to see that this year. I think Joshua just had elbow surgery. So how long that puts him out for, I’m not sure, but if he’s back at the end of the year. They could kick off Riyadh season with Fury Vs Joshua. That’s about the only fight that I think Fury or Joshua should carry on boxing for.

They’ve both more than achieved enough within their careers and had great achievements. They’re not the number one in division anymore. And with Joshua getting beat by Dubois, Something just as equally as devastating might happen to Fury. Let’s have them fight each other now to settle who was the best British heavyweight of this era? Even if they’re fighting five, three, even two years beyond when, when it really could have happened. They’ll be a trilogy.

Q: Thoughts on Ryan Garcia losing to Rolly Romero?

A:  I saw the clip of Floyd saying years ago that Romero beats Garcia. $200,000, he wanted to put on Rolly. I think he was gonna give it to Rrian Garcia if he takes the fight and wins. But Garcia, I was really disappointed with him, the performance. This is what fame does to you.

If you’ve got that many followers on Instagram, you don’t care if you win or lose, and that showed in his fight. That is more powerful than money now. Because in the olden days, if you lost a fight, the big paydays dried up. Mm-hmm. He knows that maybe the big paydays don’t dry up. Connor Benn was out there and I saw Ryan Garcia talking about Connor Benn and vice versa. And I thought, oh, well that’s a great fight. Are they influencer boxers? I don’t know. But it’ll be a huge fight. Maybe it’s a fight that’s easy to make now that Garcia has been beat. It was a boring weekend though. Even the following night in Saudi, Scull Vs Canello wasn’t there.

Q: Jack Catterall and  Harlem Eubank are going to get it on in Manchester in July. Is that a fight that excites you?

A: I really like that fight. I’m a fan of both guys. I’ve been fortunate enough to cover a lot of Harlem Eubank’s fights. I’ve been there, seen him box and been ringside for a lot of his fights. He’s a very different Eubank to the other pros we’ve seen. He’s a much more skillful type of fighter. This will be his toughest fight yet for sure. Caterall is a quality operator and he’s hard to beat with that southpaw stance. We saw that with the Josh Taylor fights. We see that with the Prograis fight last time out. He’s effective but his style’s it’s not the most pleasing on the eye and it might be a bit of a chess match but I’m looking forward to it. It’s two quality operators and two Brits in a big fight.

Q: Who would you say is the biggest rising star of British boxing at this point in time?

A: The one that always shoots to mind is Moses Itauma. But my dude Lucas Roehrig, cruiserweight and 4-0. He’s boxing on the Josh Kelly card up in Newcastle. The sixth of June. His opponent is French and has got a winning record, looks good. There’s not a lot of footage of him. Does that make it tougher to train for? But also you’re prepping for the future, prepping for anyone. But Lucas has just turned 22. He’s gonna fill out what muscles he’s still got, you know, there’s a boyishness to him. Even though he has a six pack, you can see that once he starts to fill out who’s he’s going to be massive. But we’re keeping him busy, he’s a fantastic prospect for sure. A word on Moses too, I think he has one of the best boxing brains in the heavyweight division. So he is a very skillful fighter, obviously he’s got much more to do to become a complete fighter. But lots of the heavyweights are big guys, strong guys, maybe good athletes in that field, but not natural with a vast boxing IQ but Moses does.

Q: Does he remind you a bit of Joseph Parker in that respect? Parker’s not the biggest of guys, but he’s definitely a good boxer, isn’t he? 

A: Parker’s a really good boxer and when he first showed up, it felt like because he’s not very big, he must be good at boxing. That’s how he’s coped with these guys. But he’s physically a big man. And speaking to his trainer, who’s done wonders since they’ve linked up together. Andy Lee said that Joseph Parker actually didn’t have a lot of boxing knowledge because he grew up in that part of the world, where there’s not loads and loads of boxes there. It’s not like if you’re European, you’re lucky because you get to travel Europe. If you’re British, you get to fight not only so many good fighters from Britain, but you might be going to France, Germany, Russia, Poland, Ukraine, all these countries where they’re better at boxing than we are in the amateur game at least. But in that part of the world. It took him a while to get going, but I think Joseph Parker is flying. As for Itauma, he’s gotta be about the best out there. I think for sure, he’s a future heavyweight champion.

Q: Jake Paul Vs Julio Cesar Chavez Jr June 28th: ten-round fight is to be at cruiserweight, where Paul will return after weighing 228lbs for his bout against Mike Tyson. Any excitement in that one for you? 

A: Yeash. I’ll have to go back and watch Chavez and see the last time he boxed. Because there hasn’t been a British fighter in the last 30 years who wasn’t after Chavez. I’m sure Froch was after him at one point. I thought I might have fought him at one point. He was a good fighter, but maybe lived on his father’s name a bit. He lacked discipline and failed weight a few times, but who knows what he’s got left? It might be a really good fight. Because you know, I can imagine Chavez Sr would still beat Jake Paul. So maybe if that’s the case, maybe the son does as well. It’s influencer boxing, that’s entertainment. Is Jake Paul getting closer to a legitimate pro, or is he stepping further away?

Q: Fabio Wardley is fighting against a Romanian guy soon, we need him to win that don’t we. 

A: Fabio Wardley is doing really well, he’s a handful in the heavyweight division. I think this year I’d like to see him kick on. I think if you threw him in the mix with a Joseph Parker or someone of that level. Let’s see as he goes through the levels, if he possibly can still improve and his physical power and athleticism can stand him in good stead.