LONDON: WBA super-middleweight champion George Groves has warned Chris Eubank Junior that a lack of professionalism is setting him up for failure ahead of Saturday’s title fight in Manchester.

Groves, 29, defends his title against fellow British fighter Eubank Jnr in their World Boxing Super Series semi-final at the Manchester Arena on Saturday — Groves’s highest-profile bout since two defeats against Carl Froch in 2013 and 2014.

Eubank Jnr, the son of former middleweight and super-middleweight champion Chris Eubank, makes little secret of the fact he does not work with a traditional trainer, and similarly to Groves bef­ore he fought Froch, has promoted himself on social media.

Since this weekend’s fight was confirmed the champion has maintained a significantly lower profile, and he said of Eubank Jnr: “He is that ignorant he thinks he can do it himself. ‘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 have a great team or trainer around them just to nudge them in the right direction. 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.”

Published in Dawn, February 14th, 2018