WBA Super World super middleweight champion George Groves successfully defended his title on Saturday night in stopping unbeaten Jamie Cox in the 4th round in the World Boxing Super Series tournament quarterfinals at the SSE Arena in Wembley, UK. Groves knocked Cox down with a right to the body in round 4. Cox was too hurt to get up.
Cox did himself proud with the way he launched his attacking, forcing Groves to fight defensively at times in the first 3 rounds. Cox came into the fight tonight with next to no experience against world level fighters. Cox went all out in attacking Groves with his powerful left hands. Groves looked like he was fully prepared for the early onslaught from Cox.
In the opening round, Cox hit Groves with a left hand that caused him to take a step back to the ropes. When Cox came forward to try and land, Groves grabbed him in a clinch. It looked like Groves might have been momentarily stunned by the force of Cox’s left hand. Groves has probably taken better shots in his career than what Cox hit him with, but the punch seemed to bother him. Cox was unable to take advantage of the situation, however, as Groves came on strong in the tail end of the round with him landing several rights to the head.
Cox should have slowed the pace down in the 4th, because he was getting caught far too frequently for his own good. Cox didn’t want to back off though, and it cost him the fight. Groves timed a right hook from Cox and nailed him with a right to the body. The shot was so powerful that you could seem the vibrations as it shook Cox’s upper body from the front to his back. It was a devastating punch that would have knocked light heavyweights out. Cox looked as if he never even considered getting up from the knockdown. By the time the pain had subsided, Cox had long since been counted out.
After the fight was over, Eubank Jr. was brought into the ring and he and Groves spoke of their fight in January.
With the win, Groves will now face Chris Eubank Jr. in the semifinals in early 2018. It’s going to be a real tough fight for Eubank Jr. to have to deal with the punching power of Groves, who has knocked out his last 4 opponents he’s faced. 3 of those knockouts have come from body shots. With Shane McGuigan training Groves, he’s become a devastating body puncher.
