There's no love lost between veteran champion Carl Froch and rising challenger George Groves, and the two got in some more up-close trash talk this week at their final press conference, with Froch promising Groves he would be getting "absolutely flattened," and an unflinching Groves responding so quietly that only Froch could hear.
Froch (31-2, 22 KO) is the big favorite in the fight, but there is some rising belief that he may be underestimating Groves (19-0, 15 KO), a talented fighter who has dominated at the domestic level. This, of course, is not the domestic level. Save for Andre Ward, Froch is the best in the world at 168 pounds.
There is some old bad blood between these two that came about earlier this year when Groves helped Mikkel Kessler prepare for Kessler's rematch with Froch, which Froch won convincingly on May 25, the last time the 36-year-old WBA and IBF titlist was in the ring. Groves simply saw it as a chance to get in some world class gym work, while Froch painted it as some form of treason or what have you.
They're just a day away from settling their disputes in Manchester. We'll have more on Froch-Groves, including live coverage tomorrow afternoon.