James DeGale and George Groves returned to their former amateur gym today ahead of their big May 21 clash at The O2, London. The pair will meet in a mouth-watering British and Commonwealth super-middleweight title showdown, live on Sky Box Office.
But on Thursday morning they took a stroll down memory lane when they held a press conference at Dale Youth ABC.
It was at the west London gym that the pair initially became friends – before falling out spectacularly.
Groves famously beat DeGale as an amateur.
But his big rival went on to lift the gold medal at the 2008 Olympic Games in China.
Now in just two weeks time the public will finally find out who really is the best.
“It all came flooding back when I walked through the doors again,” said DeGale.
“All the blood, sweat and tears that it took for me to win that Olympic medal.
“It also reminded me of just why I don’t like George Groves.
“He was jealous of me as an amateur and he has been jealous of me ever since I turned professional.
“He thought he was going to the golden boy of British boxing, but he had to watch me get the glory instead.
“I used to play with him sparring here, and I’ll play with him when we meet on May 21.”
But Groves hit back by saying: “James knows that I can beat him, and that makes me a very dangerous opponent.
“He’s a good fighter but I’m winning the mental war ahead of this fight.
“I’ve got the psychological edge over him. I can see he’s worried. I spent so much time around him as an amateur that I can read him like a book.
“And he is in for a very painful chapter of his life at the O2.”
***READ NATHAN CLEVERLY’S AND JAMES DeGALE’S BIG FIGHT DIARY ON WWW.FRANKWARREN.TV***
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LITTLE AND LARGE HEAD LIVERPOOL CARD
PINT sized puncher Paul Edwards and 6ft 8in David Price share top billing at Liverpool Olympia on Saturday June 11.
Price (10-0), the world’s top heavyweight prospect faces experienced Londoner John McDermott (26-7) in an eliminator for Dereck Chisora’s title.
Unbeaten Edwards (8-0) makes the first defence of his British flyweight championship against Chris Edwards (15-14-3).
Promoter Frank Maloney said: “ ‘Eddy’ might only weigh eight stone, but he has a ton of potential and David is the future of heavyweight boxing.
“Liverpool is rapidly developing into the fight capital of Britain and the sell-out show I staged in the city last month proved that.”
Edwards was forced off that bill because of a virus, while Olympic bronze medallist Price knocked out American Raphael Butler inside a round.
Maloney added: “David had his critics before that fight, but there has been silence from them ever since.
“Butler had a decent record, but John McDermott is an even sterner test. He is a good heavyweight.
“In his career he’s had terrible luck with scoring in the first Tyson Fury fight and against Danny Williams.
“He has plenty left and proved that when he knocked out Larry Olubamiwo inside a round although I knew he would win that.
“John has been so unlucky not to win a British title and he most probably realises this is his last serious chance to get in contention.”
The full undercard will be announced next week and will feature some of Merseyside’s hottest boxing prospects.
Tickets for the show are on sale priced £40 Stalls, £35 Balcony, £65 Ringside from 0871 226 1508 and www.frankmaloney.com
A Trio of United States Boxers Wins 2011 Pan American Games Berths in Ecuador
(COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO.) – Three U.S. boxers officially punched their tickets for the 2011 Pan American Games with semifinal victories at the second Pan American Games qualifier in Quito, Ecuador. Female lightweight Queen Underwood (Seattle, Wash.), female middleweight Franchon Crews (Baltimore, Md.) and male light heavyweight Jeffrey Spencer (Fort Carson, Colo.) all claimed semifinal victories to move on to final round action.
Crews clinched her berth with a slim 9-8 victory over Venezuela’s Blanca Burgos in the middleweight semifinal on Tuesday evening. The close contest was a stark contrast to Crews’ opening bout of the tournament, in which she blanked her opponent by a 22-0 margin. She will face the Dominican Republic’s Yenebier Guillen in the middleweight championship bout.
Underwood finally made her event debut on Wednesday and she quickly made her presence felt in lightweight semifinal action with Maria Ulpino of Venezuela. The 2010 World Championships bronze medalist stopped Ulpino in the first round of the contest to join Crews in final round competition. Underwood will take on Sandra Bizier of Canada in final round action.
Spencer was the final U.S. boxer to take the ring in Quito, but it didn’t stop him from continuing the U.S. winning streak. The U.S. Army World Class Athlete Program member defeated Nicaragua’s Osmar Bravo, 14-7 in their light heavyweight showdown. Spencer will battle the Dominican Republic’s Felix Varela in the light heavyweight final round contest.
Flyweight Christina Cruz (New York, N.Y.) lost her semifinal match-up with Jemyma Betraying, 17-6, eliminating her from contention in the second Pan American Games qualifier.
Due to a presidential order in Ecuador preventing any sport action on Friday, championship round boxing will be contested today to determine the gold medalists in the 13 Olympic weight divisions. Underwood, Crews and Spencer join super heavyweight Danny Kelly (Washington DC) in earning berths at the 2011 Pan American Games, October 14-30, in Guadalajara, Mexico. The 2011 event will be the first Pan American Games for women’s boxing, mirroring the addition of the sport to the 2012 Olympic Games. Kelly earned his spot at the first Pan American Games qualifier in April.
Wednesday Semifinal Round Results
Female/132 lbs: Queen Underwood, Seattle, Wash./USA stopped Maria Ulpino, VEN, RSC-1
Male/178 lbs: Jeffrey Spencer, Fort Carson, Colo./USA dec. Osmar Bravo (NIC), 14-7
Tuesday Semifinal Round Results
112 lbs/female: Jemyma Betraying, AHO, dec. Christina Cruz, New York, N.Y./USA, 17-6
165 lbs/female: Franchon Crews, Baltimore, Md./USA dec. Blanca Burgos, 9-8
USA Boxing, as the national governing body for Olympic-style boxing, is the United States’ member organization of the International Amateur Boxing Association (AIBA) and a member of the United States Olympic Committee (USOC).