Boxing does such big business in England these days that 80,000-seat Wembley Stadium isn?t a large enough venue for the Carl Froch-George Groves grudge rematch Saturday.
Promoters sold 60,000 tickets for the second Froch-Groves fight within the first hour of availability, which prompted them to put another 20,000 on sale. Those went pretty quickly, too, and now British boxing experts are calling this the biggest domestic event in the country?s rich boxing history.
To put such incredible demand in perspective, nearly three times as many fans will watch Froch-Groves II live Saturday than those who watched the Floyd Mayweather Jr.-Marcos Maidana and Manny Pacquiao-Timothy Bradley fights combined earlier this year at MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
“For me to be involved in such a big event like this,” Froch wrote in a blog for hbo.com, “it?s a very proud moment. ? It doesn?t get any bigger than this for British boxing.”
The brash Froch, 36, has become a mainstream star in England, often fodder for the relentless tabloids in London. He twice has won super middleweight world titles and has victories over then-unbeaten Lucian Bute, Mikkel Kessler, Jean Pascal, Jermain Taylor, Arthur Abraham and Groves on his highly impressive r?sum?.
The Nottingham native admits, however, that he underestimated Groves before their fight for Froch?s IBF 168-pound crown Nov. 23 in Manchester.
Froch figured Groves? 19-0 record and 15 knockouts were more the byproduct of matchmaking acumen than boxing ability. He quickly realized he was wrong when Groves knocked him down with a straight right hand in the first round.
Undeterred, the ever-courageous Froch (32-2, 23 KOs) battled back, made the scheduled 12-round match competitive, and eventually scored a ninth-round technical knockout. Groves aggressively protested a stoppage by referee Howard Foster that some viewed as premature.
London?s Groves, 26, was on his feet and had just thrown a hard punch before Foster stepped in to halt the action. The controversy helped generate great interest in their rematch (4 p.m., HBO).
“I get to do it all over again,” Froch wrote, “but this time I?ll finish the job properly, finish it conclusively, and leave no question marks. I?m so excited that I?m going to give George Groves an absolute pasting in front of a such a big crowd [in] a massive event. I cannot wait.”
The 80,000 customers who?ve made this the biggest domestic event in British boxing history can?t wait, either.
