Froch vs Groves 2: Breaking Down Undercard at Wembley Stadium
Carl Froch vs. George Groves is clearly the featured attraction at Wembley Stadium on Saturday in London, but the undercard has a few noteworthy inclusions as well.
Highly touted heavyweight and 2012 Olympic gold medalist Anthony Joshua is set to cream another journeyman heavyweight. This time the opposition will be 38-year-old Matt Legg (7-3, 2 KO).
Joshua is 5-0, having knocked out every opponent, and it's a good bet he'll stop Legg as well.
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The draw here is that boxing fans have an opportunity to see one of the heavyweight division's future stars in action.
Not only is the 6'6" Joshua a mountain of muscle and athletic prowess, he's also a likable young man with real superstar potential.
Jeff Powell of the Daily Mail writes:
"He [Joshua] remains heartwarmingly in touch with the more humble amateur environment which turned him from a street chump into an Olympic champ."
After having some issues as a youth, Joshua has turned things in the right direction.
There's a talk that he might be prepared to challenge Wladimir Klitschko as early as next year. If that's the case, this bout—for however long it lasts—could be a preview of a future champion.
Here's a look at the other fights on the card.
James DeGale (18-1, 12 KO) vs. Brandon Gonzales (18-0-1, 10 KO) Super Middleweights—IBF Eliminator
DeGale's trainer, Jim McDonnell, is fired up for his fighter's moment on the Froch-Groves 2 undercard. He insists DeGale is ready as well. Per Sky Sports, McDonnell said:
"I couldn't have put it better. Basically he's got his mojo back. He's excited, everyone is talking about it. It just feels like he's back on the back pages of the newspapers. This is what he's about.
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DeGale better be ready, because Gonzales is no joke. The athletic and undefeated 30-year-old from Sacramento, California shouldn't have a blemish on his record.
He was robbed of a decision victory in a bout against IBO world champion Thomas Oosthuizen in June 2013.
After clearly out-boxing the South African, Gonzales didn't get the nod from the judges.
Gonzales is quick and never stops coming forward. DeGale hasn't faced many opponents with Gonzales' quickness. Perhaps the only one was Groves, and DeGale lost a close majority decision to him in May 2011.
DeGale announced on Facebook that his fight with Gonzales would determine the mandatory challenger for the winner of Groves and Froch.
In short, this bout is a pretty big deal.
Jamie McDonnell (23-2-1, 10 KO) vs. Tabtimdaeng Na Rachawat (52-2, 34 KO) Bantamweights—for Vacant WBA "Regular" Title
The whole business of regular and super titles is nonsense, but it reflects the current state of the sport. As it stands, the McDonnell-Rachawat bout is for the WBA "regular" world title.
Anselmo Moreno is the current "super" champion, so the winner of this bout could presumably be in line to challenge him to rid the world of all this "regular" and "super" garbage—at least for now.
McDonnell is a rugged 28-year-old from Doncaster, England. There's no doubt he'll have a large contingent of fans rooting him on against Rachawat, who hails from Thailand.
Though Rachawat has had 54 professional bouts, this will be his first fight outside of Thailand.
Kevin Mitchell (37-2, 27 KO) vs. Ghislain Maduma (16-0, 10 KO) Lightweights
Another local favorite, Mitchell will be in action as well on Saturday. He'll face Maduma as Mitchell tries to ready himself for another run at a world title.
In two previous attempts, he's been stopped.
Back in May 2010, the hard-punching Michael Katsidis scored a TKO over Mitchell. In Sept. 2012, Ricky Burns thwarted Mitchell's attempts to capture the WBO title.
Since the loss to Burns, Mitchell has won four fights in a row.
Maduma is undefeated and untested. Both fighters are 29 years old, but a loss would clearly be more devastating for Mitchell.
He's attempting to reclimb a mountain. Losing again before he reaches a title shot—and in front of his countrymen—would be a real blow.
We'll see if he and others can perform on London's grandest stage.
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