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Haye is looking spectacular - Groves

ESPN staff
June 14, 2011
David Haye is looking great in training, according to George Groves © Getty Images
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Steve Bunce column

George Groves believes stablemate David Haye is looking "spectacular" after witnessing him 'buzz' his sparring partners in training.

Preparations for Haye's unification clash with WBO and IBF champion Wladimir Klitschko on July 2 are nearing completion, with the two men finalising their plans before meeting in the ring at the Imtech Arena in Hamburg in a little over two weeks' time.

Training alongside Haye under a railway arch in south London, Groves has experienced first-hand how the WBA king is progressing. And The Saint, who recently won his domestic grudge clash against James DeGale, says he has never seen Haye looking so good.

"He's been more than spectacular," he told Sky Sports. "I think his sparring partners have been struggling. David's buzzed a few, and a couple of others have hit the deck but none of that counts for anything when you get in the ring.

"But it proves he's well on his way, he's in the last couple of weeks and he's really stepping on the gas. He cannot wait to get in there."

After being credited for conjuring up the strategy that proved so successful for Groves in his May bout with DeGale, trainer Adam Booth has again been tasked with devising the perfect gameplan to topple Klitschko. And Groves believes the meticulous preparations are starting to bear fruit.

"We identify our strengths; we identify our weaknesses and do the same with our opponents," he said. "We come up with a strategy that works. It's not as black and white as 'you have to this let's get it done', we come up with what works, test it out in the gym and it grows organically. You put it into sparring, putting in on the pads and when the sparring partners are getting buzzed and they're struggling you know it's starting to work. And David is definitely looking in top, top condition."

Haye originally agreed to fight Klitschko in June 2009 before pulling out with a back injury. In the two years that have passed, Groves feels Haye has matured as a heavyweight and now possesses the best skills in the business.

"It's a step up, no doubt about it," he said. "When this fight was first made two years ago David was new to the heavyweight scene. But now he's fought heavyweights, trained as a heavyweight, he's sparring with heavyweights and lived as a heavyweight. I feel he's in a lot stronger position now than he was and that he's the best in the world in the heavyweight division."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
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