March 28, 2024

Both George Groves 27 (20 KO’s)-3 (2 KO’s)-0 and Jamie Cox 24 (13 KO’s)-1 (1 KO)-0 came into this fight on Saturday as relatively unknown quantities, although for different reasons. Groves on paper was coming off five fight win streak with his last fight earning him the WBA super- middleweight title in his fourth attempt, but there were still plenty of questions surrounding Groves who had never looked quite the same after his two fights against Carl Froch. A fourth- round knockout against Jamie Cox, a fighter who had previously fought no top- level opposition will do little to silence the critics, but there were signs that under Shane McGuigan the old George Groves is starting to remerge.

The fight started cagey with Groves studying Cox to see what he was dealing with, Cox’s game plan from the outset was clear, to try and use jabs and combinations to back George up to the ropes from where he could then go to work. Groves however adopted a back- foot game, whenever Cox would rush in he would slip inside the southpaw jab and counter with a straight right. Throughout the fight Groves would make good use of feints using them to unnerve Cox as he was coming in, and as the fight progressed Groves managed to find the centre of the ring increasingly. One of the shots of the fight was a sweet right uppercut landed by Groves in round three that ironically is a signature punch of his next opponent Chris Eubank Jnr.

Although Cox didn’t successfully manage to back Groves up and land a succession of hard shots he wasn’t totally without success, he landed a few blows when Groves was cornered in the second round, and he made good use of a tendency of Groves. Occasionally when Groves was close to the ropes Cox would come in fake a left hook to the head which would make George put his right hand to his temple, then Cox would throw a straight left bypassing the glove, this trick worked for him twice in the opening round landing two sharp lefts with one visibly stunning Groves.

Though Cox did not seem out of his depth in the ring with Groves, experience at top level was a factor in how the fight ended. After the second Cox started to slow, and Groves was picking his shots better making Cox look a little ragged at times who was starting to lead with hooks rather than straight shots. With the Eubank’s watching in round four Groves delivered a great catch and shoot right hand to the solar plexus after catching a right hook, sending Cox crumpling to the canvas. Following the count Groves celebrated and the fight that the public had been anticipating is on.

In the post- fight interview Groves reiterated his previous comments that Eubank is just too small for him, whether he is or not is up for debate, but it should be a great fight when it comes around to January. As previous sparring partners I doubt there will be much of a feeling out process and the two fan friendly styles should gel for a great fight. With Eubank being the favourite after his fight against Yildirim this fight could prove to the public that there’s still plenty of life in George Groves yet.

Elsewhere on the card John Ryder 25 (13 KO’s)- 4 (1 KO)-0 knocked out Danish fighter Patrick Nielsen 29 (14 KO’s)- 2 (1 KO)-0 in the 5th round.