Carl Froch retained his super middleweight titles with a TKO over George Groves, but thanks to a controversial stoppage of the fight, this bout raised more questions than it answered.
Referee John Foster ended the fight in the ninth round after Froch (32-2, 23 KO) battered Groves (19-1, 15 KO) on the ropes. The stoppage prompted outrage from the crowd.
Although Groves did appear to be dazed by the onslaught, many still believed that the challenger deserved a chance to keep fighting. Two of the bout’s judges had Groves up 76-75 at the time, fueling the result’s controversy.
But despite the storm of debate regarding the result, the fight still provided some revealing insights about both competitors.
Groves’ Power
Groves might not have come out of the fight with a win, but he proved that his punching power isn’t to be taken lightly.
The challenger displayed his power in the first round when he dropped Froch for just the second time in his career. He landed a hard right on a counter to knock Froch down, as this video shows.
Froch is known for his endurance and ability to get stronger as fights go on, so Groves was aiming to end things quickly with punches like that one.
He also dominated in the second round, using the strength of his jab to bully Froch, as the Mirror’s Joe Mewis explained.
Froch looks to be in real trouble in these early stages.
Groves is using his speed to real affect, landing yet more dangerous jabs with his right hand. He's started like a freight train and Froch looks like he's content to just get through the second round and regroup.
Although Groves didn't get the chance to finish the fight, he earned his place in the title bout. A rematch would prove a lot.
Would his strength have worn Froch down? Thanks to the stoppage, no one can be sure.
But despite this uncertainty, Groves still showed some fortitude against Froch.
Froch’s Endurance
Froch might not have landed some of the convincing punches that Groves managed, but his ability to take a beating served him well.
“The Cobra” has long been renowned for his strong chin, and it was really put to the test against Groves.
However, for all of the crowd’s sympathy toward Groves, Froch was absorbing the punches well. It took him six rounds, but the defending champion was working his way back into the bout, as The Telegraph’s Gareth Davies explains.
Groves was the aggressor in the sixth, but somehow the champion stayed on his feet after a series of heavy shots. Then the roles reversed and Groves was under pressure himself, finishing the assault by pushing his head in on Froch.
Referee Foster warned him, as he did on several occasions during the fight with both men. Froch was warned in the eighth for putting his forearm into Groves neck, after an attack, but the action was unabated.
Froch began to work his way into the fight in the eighth and ninth rounds, alternating assaults on Groves head and body, but the challenger kept his nerve and focus.
Groves might have had the early momentum, but Froch has experience with protracted bouts. He had taken a beating in the fight, but that was no guarantee that he wasn’t gearing up to deliver one of his own.
It’s possible that Groves would have rebounded over the match’s last three rounds, but it’s equally likely that Froch could have withstood the pounding and worn Groves down.
Groves scored the moral victory in this one, but Froch retained his titles for bouncing back when it was needed most.
This pairing is ripe for a rematch, and it seems the fighters are amenable to it, but this bout did little to shed light on how it might go.
Instead, it confirmed a lot of the conventional wisdom surrounding each fighter and showed that Groves and Froch were evenly matched.
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