BOXING – Former world champion George Groves urges Redditch heavyweight to be loud and brash after knockout win

FORMER world champion boxer George Groves has urged Redditch heavyweight Simon Ibekwe to make as much noise as possible following his knockout victory in Thailand.

Ibekwe (7-0) delivered a stunning 28-second knockout on the undercard of Tyson Fury’s latest fight to announce himself in the heavyweight division.

The Redditch fighter made a huge step up in class when taking to the ring in Thailand before blasting out Daniel Baer (15-2-1) 28 seconds into the first round of the contest.

Groves (28-4) won the WBA (Super) super-middleweight title in 2017 and also fought Carl Froch twice in two major all-British showdowns.

‘Saint George’ retired from the sport in 2019 after winning World, European, British and Commonwealth titles during a 10-year career.

And Groves praised Ibekwe’s mentality in taking on a difficult fight so early in his professional career.

Speaking to Betselect.co.uk, Groves said: “Good for him, good for Simon for stepping up, it sounds like he’s doing well in his career.

“Mentality is a huge part of boxing, sometimes it can be more important than the physical.

“You have to believe in yourself and at times, when the fight is not going so well, you have to have the mental resilience to dig deep.

“When the fight is going well, you’ve got to have the mental capabilities to stay focused and not switch off.

“To back yourself against a tough lad, a fella on paper who looks to be a strong test, but you’re willing to take that test and step up to the plate.

“Whenever you’re managing someone’s career, you don’t want every fight to be a 50-50 fight.

“At some point in the first two years, when you get to domestic and British title level, you’ve got to go in a 50-50 fight.

“You have the mental toughness to know this might not go right but if I do everything within my capabilities then I’ve given myself the absolute best chance.”

Ibekwe delivered a statement win in the biggest fight of his fledgling professional career to date.

And Groves urged Ibekwe to stay humble in the gym but to make as much noise as possible outside of the ring to build up his profile.

Groves added: “As long as you’re putting the work in, in the gym, that’s the way to stay humble.

“Do the graft. You believe you’re going to take over the world.

“I was calling out the British champion at the time when I was only four fights in.

“If he can stay humble in the gym but be as loud and as brash and call out everyone outside the ring, you’ve got a much better chance of getting the fights and getting people’s attention.

“People will love you when you win. That’s the risk you’ve got to take sometimes.

“You can be a little bit bolshy and overconfident. People believe you when you win but they will step on you when you lose.”