Froch vs Groves II: Carl Froch admits letting Groves get into his head before first bout

George Groves sought to play some mental mind games with Carl Froch leading up to their first bout last November, and Froch has admitted that it worked, saying he was in good shape physically but not mentally, and that this time around, he's going to speak with a sports psychologist who works with Great Britain's Olympic squad.

"There are questions to be answered about why I let Groves get inside my head. I am so annoyed with myself for letting it happen because I studied sports psychology as part of my sports science degree at uni.

"He did a good job on me because when I got into the ring after listening to his rubbish, all I wanted to do was punch his face in instead of boxing him. I'm not going to let it happen again."

Froch (32-2, 23 KO) won a highly controversial ninth round stoppage when referee Howard Foster jumped in to halt the action, handing Groves (19-1, 15 KO) his first defeat. The real shame of the stoppage was not even so much that it was early, but that an epic, dramatic fight was stopped before a clear outcome could be reached, as Froch had battled back from struggles in the early rounds to claw his way back into it, and may have been en route to a deserved stoppage win, which would have been almost as big a story, and far more memorable.

Already in the lead-up to this fight, Froch's temper flared a bit at a photo session, as he shoved Groves while Groves was talking in his ear.

But both fighters will have the chance to correct the mistakes they made in the first bout when they meet at a sold-out Wembley Stadium on May 31, and I think we can tell already how much this fight means to Froch.