This Saturday sees the biggest domestic fight in British boxing since the classic Nigel Benn v Chris Eubank doubleheader of the early 1990s.

In Manchester, unbeaten contender George Groves will challenge Carl Froch for his IBF and WBA super-middleweight titles.

It is an encounter which bears all the hallmarks of an epic, especially as the bad blood between both fighters is on a par with that which seasoned the Benn-Eubank rivalry 20 years ago.

The build-up to Froch v Groves has made for riveting viewing. In the interviews, press conferences, and publicity appearances that have taken place it has been Groves who’s impressed with his extraordinary ability to remain calm, composed and unflappable as he approaches easily the biggest fight of his career against one of the most formidable world champions in any division.

Does Groves know something which the bookies, most pundits, and fans who have Froch down as the clear favourite don’t?

Indeed you would think that Groves is the champion and favourite and Froch the challenger judging by the way the younger man has succeeded in rattling his more experienced opponent.

The manner in which Froch has articulated his disdain for Groves, raging at the lack of respect he’s been shown — to the point where he’s made it clear he thinks Groves should feel honoured to even be sharing the ring with him — has been instructive. It suggests a fighter who may have lapsed into the dangerous territory of hubris.

Groves has the style and attributes to win this fight. He knows that Froch is a fighter who thrives on going toe to toe with his opponents, relying on his power, strength, fitness and a granite chin to prevail.

He therefore also knows that the key for him is to nullify those strengths by not getting sucked into a war.

Undoubtedly Froch is where he is on merit. In ring war after ring war against quality opposition he’s shown that he deserves the mantle of being considered one of the all-time greats of British boxing.

Recall the manner in which he came back from losing comprehensively against Andre Ward in December 2011 to completely dominate the hitherto undefeated IBF champion Lucian Bute six months later.

He then rolled over Yusuf Mack to avenge the only other loss on his record against Mikkel Kessler in his previous fight.

The key to the fight for Groves is executing the kind of disciplined game plan he did against James DeGale.

His hand speed and movement, combined with superb timing and impressive punch accuracy, are strengths that Froch hasn’t encountered since he fought Ward. Groves may not be at the same level as Ward yet, but for me he isn’t far off.

An unbeaten record 19 wins from 19 outings with 15 of those wins coming by way of KO is no joke, even though he hasn’t faced the same quality of opposition as Froch to date.

No matter, a significant factor in a professional boxer’s career, one that goes a long way to determining success or failure, is timing. Groves believes that now is the time to fight and defeat an opponent who is 10 years older and who has been in more ring wars in the past few fights than most fighters have in their entire careers.

Froch on the other hand is confident that Groves’s chin won’t stand up to his power if he connects.

The evidence for this, he asserts, is the fact that he’s already faced Groves in sparring and dropped him.

He also bases his analysis on the fact that Groves has been wobbled in past fights, most notably against Scotland’s Kenny Anderson and Paul Smith Jnr. However on both occasions Groves recovered and went on to stop both of them, demonstrating that he doesn’t lack in the grit department.

This is, quite literally, a fight set up to be one of two halves. Groves will most likely stick and move from the opening bell, ensuring that Froch doesn’t get a chance to plant his feet and get his shots off.

Utilising lateral movement and footwork to constantly change the distance, as Ward did, Groves will be looking to frustrate the world champion, hoping he will start making mistakes to leave himself open as a result.

Froch, being a notoriously strong finisher, will be confident that no matter how many rounds it takes sooner or later he will find his opponent with the barrage of power shots which he and his trainer Rob McCracken are relying on to ensure that Groves does not hear the final bell.

Speaking of trainers, Groves’s split with long time trainer Adam Booth in the lead-up to the fight may well have a bearing on the outcome too.

Booth is one of the most talented strategists in the sport and the question as to what extent this will impact on Groves’s performance will be crucial on the night.

Regardless, I’m picking Groves to win by late stoppage or on points.