The two duke it out next month in what promises to be one of the best early fights of 2018 in boxing.

Both super-middleweights have been slogging away all through Christmas and the new year ahead of their showdown in Manchester next month.

Tactics will be everything in this fight.

A battle where the two guys know each other’s strength and weaknesses going into war, but a war where they must look to exploit those strengths and weaknesses better than the other guy across the ring.

A lot has been made about Eubank’s perceived speed and stamina advantages over Groves but could Groves in a sense want Eubank to fight like that – at a hundred miles an hour type pace that he so often does?

Groves has shown in the past to be a world-class counter puncher on his day. Carl Froch in their first fight would surely vouch for that.

Some of the counter right hands in particular from that low stance that the Londoner sometimes employs can be quiet nasty.

If Eubank is over eager and thinks he can just come in guns blazing against Groves – this could result in some rather sharp counter shots coming his way from a man who likely will carry more single punch knockout power than him.

Eubank Jr while been very impressive in his career to date will have to show a little more subtly in his fight game against Groves for me.

A man who has an excellent boxing brain and deep knowledge of the sport.

A certain combat sportsman said before that:

“Timing beats speed and precision beats power.”

Perhaps Groves will be thinking about this in the coming weeks ahead.

At the same time, perhaps Eubank Jr will be thinking of another well-known fight phrase during his final preparations too:

“Speed kills.”

Not long to go and all shall be revealed.