12 Jun 2019
Two of Britain’s best super-middleweights, George Groves and Callum Smith, travel to Saudi Arabia this Friday night for the final of the inaugural World Boxing Super Series (WBSS) super-middleweight final, with both boxers fighting to claim the Muhammed Ali Trophy.
Groves will also defend his super-middleweight WBA world title, raising the stakes of the bout that will settle the question of who the best 168lbs boxer is.
Groves the favourite
Groves (28-3-0) will enter the ring as the slight favourite to win the first ever WBSS and retain his WBA world title, with odds of 7/4 to win on points on the night. That’s despite spending time on the side-lines following a shoulder injury he sustained in his semi-final WBSS bout against Chris Eubank Jnr back in February of last year.
It was that fight against Eubank Jnr where Groves was the underdog, that makes him the favourite for this fight with fellow Brit Smith. Groves scored a comfortable points win that evening to secure his place in the final against a competitor some expected to claim the WBSS title.
Some may question whether his shoulder can hold up, but Groves has been cleared to fight since May and reassured fans in the lead up to the fight by claiming ‘it’s better than ever’.
Undefeated underdog
It’s rare to see an undefeated fighter make the walk to the ring as an underdog, but that’s exactly what 28-year-old Callum Smith (24-0-0) will do on Friday night.
Smith came through two 12 round bouts to reach the final, scoring very comfortable unanimous decisions on both occasions. With the 28-year-old claiming he’s feeling better than ever, some wouldn’t put it past him to claim yet another victory via unanimous decisions on Friday night.
However, many believe Smith had an easier route to the WBSS final and with the fight being his first ever world title fight, it’s perhaps no surprise he’s the outside bet to win on points at 11/4.
In the six fights that have taken place so far in the WBSS, only two of them have ended via knockout. Groves claimed one of those with a knockout victory in his first fight at Wembley Arena back in October 2017 against fellow Brit Jamie Cox.
It may come as no surprise then that the fight is 4/7 to go the distance and it would certainly be the safe bet for punters.
For those who are willing to take a chance however, it may be worth putting money behind Groves to finish the fight in one of the earlier rounds. His last four knockout wins have all finished inside six rounds and you can get odds of Groves to win in rounds 4-6 at 12/1.
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