George Groves faces Chris Eubank Jr this Saturday (Picture: Getty)

George Groves believes the fact Chris Eubank Jr does not a have trainer will ultimately stop him from becoming an elite fighter.

The WBA (Super) super-middleweight champion faces Eubank Jr this Saturday in the semi-final of the World Boxing Super Series and is vying to become the top fighter in his division.

Eubank Jr is being backed by the bookies to beat Groves, with the IBO champion mentored by his father and boxing legend, Chris Eubank Sr.

But, Jr does not train under a regular coach and virtually manages his own development regime, and Groves expects this decision to be his biggest advantage on fight night.




‘He is that ignorant he thinks he can do it himself,’ Groves said. ‘The cornermen give me water: I do the rest, I train myself, I know what I’m doing’.

‘It doesn’t work — the greatest fighters in the world have a great team or trainer around them just to nudge them in the right direction.

We’re a week away from a huge Super Middleweight showdown between @StGeorgeGroves an @ChrisEubankJr LIVE on ITV Box Office! Buy the fight today for £16.95 For more details head to the ITV Box Office website: https://t.co/BJOqe8ArhO pic.twitter.com/eKZz5iD2uW — ITV Box Office (@ITVBoxOffice) February 10, 2018

‘The dad is supposed to be that, but it’s the blind leading the blind. He doesn’t know what he’s doing, especially the dad. He’s lost his grip on reality.

‘I thought he might take himself off to Vegas and do a camp out there, work with some sort of decent trainer, you’d definitely be getting good sparring.

‘But he hasn’t — he’s decided to come back home, train himself, spar anyone he can get hold of.

Groves recently joined forces with trainer Shane McGuigan (Picture: Getty)

Amazing!! I'd prefer to throw 2 punches and give the referee time to count to ten in 11 seconds. Each to their own I guess! https://t.co/qdWckPSMNH — George Groves (@StGeorgeGroves) February 5, 2018

‘He’s got success through putting out videos, and attaching himself to big names and not having a real fight. The difference here is he’s in a real fight.’

Groves has sparred with Eubank Jr in the past and admitted he then thought his fellow Brit had all the tools to become an elite fighter.

But, the 29-year-old has been bemused by his opponent’s decisions since then and is critical of Eubank Jr’s choices, as well as his father’s involvement.

He explained: ‘When I first saw him he looked to have the right ingredients. Attitude, desire, ambition, willingness to come back for more hot sparring after being hurt.

‘He got some really good sparring with me and James DeGale but since then he’s only been interested in winning rounds against weak sparring partners.

‘A full-time trainer would not have allowed that but his father’s only there to nudge him a little and be part of the show. So he’s been wasting energy on playing fake games with the media, while drilling himself into bad habits which are now permanently ingrained.

‘So instead of training on after losing a close one to Billy Joe (Saunders) he’s gone the other way.’