PADDY Fitzpatrick believes George Groves will become world champion this weekend.

The Ferndale Road-based trainer has been out in California for the past two months preparing the 27-year-old for his WBC super-middleweight clash with champion Badou Jack.

The fight, which is on the undercard of Floyd Mayweather’s final fight against Andre Berto at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas in the early hours of Sunday morning, will not go the distance, according to Fitzpatrick.

“(Camp) has been going great,” Fitzpatrick told the Advertiser from the training base at Big Bear.

“Never before have I said this about George in any of the fights we have had together, but he will win by a knockout.

“Come fight night, George and I will have been together for two years.

“Before this fight, we have been going from one stress to another.

“Although people may see George not having fought since November as a negative, it is a massive positive.

“It has been the first time that we have really been able to work as a boxer and coach.

“He is looking fantastic, beautiful. Every sparring partner we’ve had, and this is no disrespect to them, have all been hurt by George.”

The Swindon trainer has also had Eamonn O’Kane out at Big Bear preparing for his fight at the Mecca of boxing – Madison Square Garden on October 17.

The Northern Irishman faces Bahamian Tureano Johnson to become the mandatory challenger for the IBF world middleweight title.

The winner of that contest will then face the winner of WBA, IBO and interim WBC champion Gennady Golovkin and IBF king David Lemieux, who top the bill that night.

“We have this fantastic opportunity for Eamonn,” Fitzpatrick added. “He is fighting at Madison Square Garden on pay-per-view on HBO and he is promoter free.

“If he wins, which not many people are expecting him to do so, then he gets the winner of the main event (Golovkin-Lemieux) because he will be mandatory for the IBF title and that is massive.”