t lived up to all expectation. It was a thriller. But George Groves was just a step too far, too long, too strong and ultimately too technical and experienced in the championship rounds for Chris Eubank Jr here last night when the Londoner defeated the Brighton man on points to prove that the hype surrounding Eubank and his imperviousness to both pain and punches – derived largely from his father – was indeed unjustified. It was scored 117-112, 116-112 and 115-113 by the three British judges.
He had been called “the next generation Eubank”, “a machine’, as the 28-year-old follows in the footsteps of his eccentric father, the former two-weight world champion. But there were spills and thrills all the way to the finish.
The bubble has burst, but oh how Eubank gave his all in a dramatic fight, gambling, wild, brave and bullish to the final seconds. The way back will be long, and probably at middleweight. And many will condemn the fact that Eubank was too ambitious, and against all conventional advice, should not have been training himself.
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There was no capture of the World Boxing Association super middleweight crown, as promised, no “utter terrorisation” of Groves, the champion using his experience of the big occasion and size to outskill the young pretender, ending the fight triumphant in the first defence of his crown. George Groves vs Chris Eubank Jr – WBA & IBO World Super-Middleweight Titles Eubank Jr suffered a nasty cut above his right eye after an early clash of heads Credit: Reuters
Eubank had told anyone and everyone who would listen in the build-up to this contest that it was his time, that boxing was about to witness a revolution. Yet in spite of being a marginal favourite with the bookmakers, Groves proved too technically proficient for his foe. After all the razzamatazz, the light show, the smoke plumes, the gladiatorial platforms set up to parade the warriors, the fighters took to the ring. Huge support for Groves, catcalls and whistles for Eubank. Referee Michael Alexander, of Doncaster, had a busy night.
Groves took the early rounds, commanding with his jab, and movement, leading the fray until Eubank, cut by his right eyebrow by a clash of heads in the third, began to bull his way into the fight. He was strong, he was game, and although he fought valiantly to the last, he was just too raw to finish an exhausted Groves. But it was Groves’ superior boxing that deserved the triumph, he made Eubank look like a brawler. The younger man won rounds on brutality and swinging like a terror. Eubank had told Groves, in no uncertain terms, four days ago, that he was “a novice”. But there was only one novice in this fight. Chris Eubank Jr Blood streams from the cut above Eubank’s eye Credit: Reuters
Many thought that Eubank’s self-belief and tenaciousness would enable him to walk through Groves’ onslaughts and wear the champion down. There were so many possible permutations, but in the final analysis, Groves made it his fight. As they say in boxing, skills pay the bills, and that was the tale of the this fight, in spite of Eubank giving it his all.
Eubank, who suffered his second defeat in 28 contests, will be back, for sure, as Groves moved himself to 28 wins in 31 career fights, the Shane McGuigan trained boxer now standing one win away from being recognised by The Ring Magazine as the No 1 super middleweight in the world. What a turnaround for Groves after world title defeats, twice, to Carl Froch, and once to Badou Jack. Groves certainly is testament to being a model professional fighter, and through heartache, never giving up on his ambitions, dreams and desires.
Eubank, if he plays his cards right, could find his way into a contest with the one man to have defeated him, World Boxing Organisation middleweight champion Billy Joe Saunders, and potentially the two other global stars of the division, Kazakh Gennady Golovkin, widely recognised as the current No 1, and Saul Canelo Alvarez, Mexico’s most revered boxer at present. Eubank goes on the attack Eubank goes on the attack Credit: Reuters
Eubank insisted he could bring the same kind of attention to the smaller weight divisions in Britain as heavyweight champion But this was Groves’ night – after being cajoled and forced into a war of words and attrition in the build-up.
But for the fighter who once had a resume with three defeats in world title contests, there is now the sweet pill of moving on to the final of the World Boxing Super Series event, where he will face either Callum Smith, the unbeaten 27-year-old fighter from Liverpool, the youngest of four boxing brothers, or Juergen Braehmer, who meet in the second semi final next Saturday night in Nuremberg. The final will be held at the 02 Arena, London Docklands, on June 2, with the last two men standing in the 8-man tournament sharing a pot of 4.8 million pounds. Groves vs Eubank Eubank slips over while trying to evade Groves’ punches Credit: PA
Earlier, Sebastian Eubank, the 26-year-old brother of headliner Chris struggled to get clearance to his dressing room initially but eventually made it to the ring to get his professional light heavyweight career off and running.
