George Groves Easily Defeats Chris Eubank, JR to Go to the Final of the WBSS Tournament
By Faisal “Fayz” Masood
In boxing we often hear there are levels to the sport, fighters progress from one level to the next, from state to national to the top level, world class. Last night, Chris Eubank, JR. stepped up a level for the second time, and for the second time he was found wanting.
The build up to the fight was intense, when the fight was first announced the widely held belief was that George Groves would win, Groves was the naturally bigger man, had faced better competition and had more experience but as the night of the fight got closer, there was a gradual shift as a contingent began to shuffle across to the side of Eubank, JR. It is a bad match up they said, Groves has stamina issues, Eubank, JR. fights at a frantic pace and will wear Groves down and take the points win down the stretch as Groves tires. Whether this was because people genuinely believed Eubank, JR. was the better fighter or because he and his father, Chris Eubank, SR. were great at hyping the fight and making everyone believe, the time to find out was now.
As the fight started, Groves used his jab to find his range, content to fight on the outside and prevent Eubank, JR. from bringing the pressure and hunt him down. Groves jab was labelled as a key weapon in this fight and he was proving that by using it early, a cagey start to the fight meant there was little else happening.
This was the narrative for much of the early going, Groves looked cautious in defence, staying on the outside and Eubank, JR. looked cautious in offence, wanting to close the gap but unable to and looking slightly confused as to how he would accomplish this. Eubank, JR. loves to fight inside, this is where his best work takes place and he looked like he had itchy feet trying to find his moment to jump in and bring the onslaught to Groves, but the WBA champion was fighting the perfect fight to deflate his opponents pressure.
A clash of heads in round three had Eubank, JR. coming out worse, a cut opened up above his eye and it was a cut that would trouble him for the duration of the fight with blood sweeping down his face, Eubank, JR. plundered on and soldiered on but this is where he was beginning to go wrong. Eubank, JR. was bringing the pressure, but he was bringing it in only one way, Groves continued to negate the pressure with his jab and with his movement, still on the outside there was no need for Groves to do anything else if Eubank, JR. was unable to solve the puzzle.
Eubank, JR. fought the only way he knew how to, and herein was the problem – he had no plan B for the fight. Simply walking forward will not work against a world class opponent, an opponent who is the naturally bigger and stronger man too. Eubank, JR. was not using his jab, which meant he was not coming in behind the jab to close the gap, neither was he slipping the jab to come in from, he kept at range and used lunging lead left hooks to try to accomplish his task of getting inside closer to Groves. This method was never going to have much success and Eubank, JR. continued to swing wildly, whenever he did get moderate success he failed to follow up with any shots, instead of throwing multiple punches and following his left hook with a cross or uppercut, Eubank, JR. would lunge in with his hook and then wait to throw another big punch, looking for a one punch knock out but by this time, Groves was again on the outside looking in, picking off Eubank, JR. with his jabs and frustrating his opponent.
Groves was bringing the perfect plan and by controlling the range he was controlling the tempo of the fight, if Groves had any stamina issues then we would not be seeing those tonight as Eubank, JR. was not forcing the pace of the fight, the fight was being fought at the pace Groves wanted it to be, he could fight like this all night long. As Eubank, JR. continued to stumble forward looking for the knock out shot, whenever they were close, Groves was easily able to either tie up Eubank Jr or simply spin him round into the ropes, Eubank, JR. was being made to look amateurish….
As the final rounds began Eubank, JR. knew it would take a knock out from him to win, in he came again looking for a one punch finish, there were now signs Groves was beginning to tire but his experience was carrying him through, Eubank, JR. had no answer, still following the same game plan and still following his opponent around the ring. In round twelve Eubank, JR. finally began seeing some success, but despite Groves suffering a shoulder injury, he refused to be bullied in the last round as the two engaged in a brawl, Eubank, JR. still swinging wildly and missing numerous punchers as Groves bobbed and weaved under his opponent’s hooks. As the bell rung and signalled the end of the fight it was clear there was only going to be one winner. The final scorecards read 117-112, 116-112, 115-113, the unanimous decision went to George Groves, he had booked his place in the World Boxing Super Series final, kept his title and with it taken Eubank, JR.’s lightly regarded IBO belt.
The aftermath has only just begun but already it has been scathing in its condemnation of Chris Eubank, JR. Former world champion ‘Prince’ Naseem Hamed may have been the most damning, suggesting Eubank, JR. should retire from the sport and that he is not as good as he thinks he is and does not have the ability to be a world class fighter.
Eubank, JR. was called by some as the ‘next gen’ fighter, an exciting puncher who has the fists to back up his vibrant and outspoken personality, presenting himself as an emotionless, callous warrior who is ready to conquer every opponent he steps into the ring with but tonight there will be mumbles and grumbles that George Groves exposed Eubank, JR. as a limited fighter who knows only one way to fight, unable to fight from the outside, unable to close the gap, unable to string punches together. The punch stats told the real story, Eubank, JR. threw just 68 jabs in the entire contest and landed a paltry 17. Boxing fundamentals were lost to Eubank, JR. and he would be well served to go back and work on his game, perhaps even go back to the middleweight division, the size and strength difference between the two was telling. For Groves he progresses to the final and continues his upward spiral with his 7th consecutive victory since he contemplated retirement after losing his world title challenge for the third time against Badou Jack. Eubank, JR. would do well to learn from Groves, not just at the way Groves used his much better boxing IQ to befuddle and confuse him, but at how Groves has been able to rebuild his career and become a world champion.
Check out Fayz’s available books for download on Amazon. He also runs his own Personal Training site and blog over at Fayz Fitness.
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