George Groves believes Callum Smith will pay for having an easy route to the World Boxing Super Series final.
The WBA world super-middleweight champion makes a third defence against English rival Smith in the eight-man competition's final in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on Friday.
Groves (28-3, 20 KOs), 30, triumphed in another domestic dispute in February, when he unanimously out-pointed Chris Eubank Jr., but dislocated his left shoulder in the last round.
Smith (24-0, 17 KOs), 28, reached the final after unanimous points wins over Erik Skoglund and substitute opponent Nieky Holzken, which Groves insists was not good preparation for his first world title shot.
"In any other sport an easier route to the final is your best route -- but in this sport it isn't," Groves told ESPN.
"He's not been able to test himself at the highest level. If it's not required you're not going to push yourself and you're going to take the route of least resistance.
"He doesn't win fights as easily or as convincingly as he should do. He labours to a points victory or a late stoppage. His biggest win is over Rocky Fielding, who he did manage to beat early."
Groves believes his experience of the big occasion will be decisive -- even if his fight with Smith is being staged thousands of miles from home, away from fight fans, in the desert.
Groves topped the bill against British rival James DeGale in his 13th professional fight at the O2 Arena and was back in the big time again when he twice challenged Carl Froch for his world titles in 2013 and 2014.
After two stoppage defeats to Froch, Groves also lost a split decision to Badou Jack in another world title fight before successfully rebuilding his career and winning his first major belt in May last year.
"It will be a different sort of pressure -- he's fortunate it's out of the UK and he's not going to be in a bubble of people stopping him in the street but that may have spurred him on," Groves said.
"I don't know him well but he seems quite a laid-back character and from a boxing family, so the pressure was not on him growing up.
"But in the last few years when they have turned their attention to him and talked him up he hasn't done anything and he has blamed the promoter for not delivering the fights he wanted.
"He's fixated with the fight versus me to validate the hype around him. It's also a safety net because I'm ranked No. 1 in the division so if he fails against me he can still come again.
"It will be an interesting build up and feel on fight night because we are in a different domain. But I'm more used to these sorts of big fights.
"I feel I've got more experience than him, boxed all around the world and on big shows like against Badou Jack in Las Vegas on a Floyd Mayweather undercard.
"It's a massive step up for him -- but for me it's not my hardest fight on paper."