Anderson offers to fight Groves on 3 April
Kenny Anderson is willing to fight George Groves on the undercard of David Haye’s world heavyweight title defence against John Ruiz in April, according to Anderson’s trainer Kevin Maree.
Super-middleweight prospect Groves made the headlines last week by offering former amateur rival James DeGale £50,000 to face him on the Haye-Ruiz bill at the M.E.N Arena in Manchester on April 3. But with DeGale unwilling to commit to the April date whilst he is currently preparing for his sixth pro outing against Matthew Barr this Saturday, team Anderson have offered to step in.
“We read with interest that George Groves had offered James DeGale £50,000 to fight him on 3 April in Manchester. If DeGale isn’t willing to fight Groves on that date then Kenny Anderson will gladly step in and box Groves for the same money,” declared Maree to BoxRec News.
Anderson is busy preparing for his re-arranged British title eliminator against Paul David in Glasgow on 15 March. The pair were originally due to meet on Burns Night in January when David pulled out on the advice of his trainer Dominic Ingle after contracting gastroenteritis on the eve of the contest.
“As frustrating as it was, we accept that Paul David was genuinely unwell but we also took it as a compliment that he wasn’t prepared to face Kenny when he was less than 100%. Without wishing to be disrespectful to David, we are very confident of beating him on 15 March and are more than happy to then fight Groves afterwards,” said Maree.
“Kenny’s a fighting man, he trains three times a day and has had over 100 amateur fights. At 27 he wants to be involved in some big fights now. Fighting George Groves at the M.E.N Arena in front of thousands on the undercard of a heavyweight world title fight would definitely fit into that category,” Maree continued.
Anderson has endured a stop-start career since turning pro after winning gold at the Commonwealth Games in 2006. Though unbeaten in ten fights, the Scot has been out of the ring since narrowly outpointing Nathan King to capture the Celtic title last March. Now under the tutelage of trainer Maree and manager Barry McGuigan, the re-focused Anderson is intent on making his mark in 2010.
“Kenny broke a rib when defeating King which kept him out for a while. It’s unfortunate that he’s been inactive but with an injury of this nature we had to make sure he was successfully rehabilitated before allowing him back in the ring,” explained Maree.
“He’s been looking exceptional in the gym though and is the hardest puncher I have ever taken on the pads. My arms and elbows have had to be strapped to withstand the weight of Kenny’s punches and when I went to see my doctor about the aches and pains he told me I was suffering from whiplash!”
Providing he can overcome underrated switch-hitter David, Maree is confident that Anderson will have too much for the highly touted Groves or indeed any super-middle in Britain.
“We rate George Groves very highly and he has a great team around him with the likes of Dave Coldwell in his corner. But Kenny is a beautiful boxer and he is more than capable of beating Groves and the likes of (British champion) Paul Smith and Tony Dodson,” said Maree.
“We’ve been working on slightly adapting his style in the gym, and without giving anything away, we are confident that people will be pleasantly surprised when they see him against Paul David on 15 March.”
