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A Closer Look at George Groves Vs Jamie Cox

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By Donald “Braveheart” Stewart

George Groves, 26-3, 19 KO’s, has fought in four world title fights, winning one. It is a fact that seems to define him. People talk of how he was lucky or fortunate or was on the last chance saloon.

It’s an unfair assessment.

Whilst Groves has not hit the heights of popularity that others may have enjoyed, there have been significant times when he walked in the villain and walked out the hero.

This Saturday, he finds himself in his fifth world title fight but for the first time he is the defending champion. Up against the unbeaten Jamie Cox, 24-0, 13KO’s, he goes in against Cox as the number one seed in the World Boxing Super Series.

Last weekend in a ring in Germany, a certain Mr Showman, none other than Mr Chris Eubank Jr, laid waste to his quarter final challenger from Turkey, Avni Yildrim. Straight afterwards he called out Groves, knowing that the fight is one that the domestic public, in the UK, would love to see.

Groves Vs Eubank = pure showtime.

Before Groves manages to fulfil that destiny, he has one fight to get through and for many in the boxing business, Groves’ rise to the ABA win against Fedor Chudinov was nothing less than deserved. Many of the same people are hoping that he can go in and blow off Eubank Jr, once he was got past Cox.

Cox is a sparring fighter with a massive reputation for being the business in camps. There are many stories circulating of how he has made better fighters blow in sparring and now is his time to shine, in against Groves. His career has been stop/start but he has never lost a professional fight and that is what partly makes him very dangerous.

The next may be how he has been treated. Groves was first seed, Eubank fourth so Groves picked first and Eubank took what was left. Eubank got the guy, the rest of the seeds wanted to avoid and with his sensational knockout in the third round, he has not just warned the rest, he has laid down a marker. That Grove suggested he was taking the easy route, has not gone done too well with Cox, though he has not made a thing of it. He is confident and secure in the knowledge that he may have secured his future by just being in this competition, but he is also aware that he could touch and take unthought of riches if he progresses.

Whilst I think Cox may be the dark horse’s dark horse, most people think Groves has enough to win comfortably. That opinion is couched in the experiences that we have had watching Groves.
His amateur pedigree saw him win the national finals twice, in 2006 and 2007. As a professional he has held the British, Commonwealth and European titles but it has been his four world titles fights and one grudge match – all title fights, of which Cox has no experience – that have defined his career.

Turning professional in 2008, Groves was always on a collision course with a certain Mr James DeGale; he had beaten “Chunky” in the amateurs and Chunky wanted revenge.

On the 21st May 2011, after a lot of trash talking and unpleasantness the two met in a ring at the 02 Arena in London. On the line were Groves’ Commonwealth and DeGale’s British title. Someone was destined to walk in with one belt and leave with two; on a majority decision after a very tight fight, that was Groves as he walked away with a massive grin and his second win against the Olympic Gold medallist. Since then a rematch has always been on the cards; what would push it to one side was something even bigger.

Though it took two years, along came a massive payday and a massive opportunity as Groves became the mandatory challenger for the IBF super middleweight title. The holder, a certain Mr Carl Froch, disliked Groves, almost as much as DeGale had. As well as the IBF title on went the WBA title to spice things up as they met in Manchester on the 23rd of November 2013.

Leading up to the fight in a move that was becoming usual for Mr Groves he changed trainers. Some may call him headstrong, and others foolhardy but out went Adam Booth and in came Paddy Fitzpatrick. In the ninth round of a fight he was winning on all three score cards, Groves was stopped controversially by the referee. Groves, and the crowd were very unhappy and though I believe it was the right decision, Groves had won over the crowd. He had been booed by them on his ring walk and now Froch was booed during his post-fight interview.
There was only one way this could be resolved.

The rematch saw 80,000 people come to Wembley Stadium to witness the biggest boxing match held in the UK in post war years UNTIL a certain Mr Joshua and Mr Klitschko added another 10,000 onto their attendance recently. Groves arrived in a London bus for his ring walk and all the glamour and glitter were there to see him attempt to avenge his very first professional loss.

With an eighth round knockout, it was to be his second professional loss. The argument had been settled in front of “what the British public wanted to see”, according to Carl Froch.
The time had come to rebuild and come back. On the 12th September 2015, Groves returned to a world title ring, this time in the USA and for the WBC belt, against Badou Jack. Groves had fought in America twice before so being away from home was no issue. Alongside his trainer Fitzpatrick, Groves could have won the fight but seemed to relax a little in the later rounds, clearly under the impression he was winning well. The split decision that went against led to another split – with his trainer, again – and further heartache.
Groves was becoming the bridesmaid.

Now training with Shane McGuigan, son of Barry McGuigan, Groves did a very clever thing – took on all comers. He beat an Italian, Andrea Di Luisa, an up and coming prospect, David Brophy, an old hand, Martin Murray and a highly experience world level fighter, Eduard Gutknecht.

As a rebuilding program goes this was both risky and genius. His fight with Murray was an eliminator for the WBA title so his emphatic points win, against Murray and then Gutknecht made him favourite going into a title scrap with the WBA champion, Fedor Chudinov.

On the 27th May 2017, George Groves fulfilled what he believed was his destiny and stopped Chudinov in round six. Even with a broken jaw he sustained in the third round, nobody could wipe that grin off his face.

Ringside, former foe, Carl Froch was one of the first to stand applaud his win.

And so, he turns to Saturday. Groves not only believes he can beat Cox but that he can win the series – which person who has entered does not believe it – and has hinted that winning it might be enough to satisfy his pugilistic needs and he could retire.

Of course, the one belt outside of the World Boxing Super Series is the IBF belt, held by one James DeGale. Remember that rematch? Should Groves win, there is little doubt that he could be persuaded to fight just one more time…

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