George Groves defeated fellow British fighter Jamie Cox at the SSE Arena in Wembley with a crumpling fourth-round right-hook body shot to retain his World Boxing Association super middleweight crown.
G eorge Groves defeated fellow British fighter Jamie Cox at the SSE Arena in Wembley with a crumpling fourth-round right-hook body shot to retain his World Boxing Association super middleweight crown.
More significantly, it set up a genuine British superfight with Chris Eubank Jr in the semi-final of the World Boxing Super Series tournament for the Muhammad Ali Trophy.
The WBA 12st world titleholder was keen to make a huge impression in the competition after British rival Eubank Jr knocked out Turkey’s Avni Yildirim in the third round last weekend in Germany.
The victory for Groves has now set up a semi-final against Eubank, ringside on Saturday night, in January 2018.
Groves, a world champion at the fourth attempt when he wrested this belt from Fedor Chudinov in May this year, has made hard work of more facile fights in the past, yet having promised that mentally and physically he was in the shape of his life, easily weathered previously unbeaten Cox’s early onslaught.
It was lively from the start, with Groves’ heavier punches winning the first three rounds, the second period of the fight coinciding with trouble in the crowd at Wembley.
I n the opening stanza, Cox’s jab consistently fell short, Groves countering with his own left hands, and landing with a straight cross.
W orking furiously, Cox had a better second round, throwing a serious of hooks, managing to push Groves into a corner, before the Hammersmith man fought back with heavy hands, looking to go to the body, clearly a strategy from the defending champion, the longer, more rangy of the pair.
Cox came tearing out at Groves with the third bell, even recklessly, but showing a toughness against the rival he once shared a room with when the two were on the England amateur boxing team together.
