Photo by Scott Heavey/Getty Images
Froch vs. Groves 2
Carl Froch (33-2, 24 KOs) knocked out George Groves (19-2, 15 KOs) in the eighth round of their highly-anticipated rematch at the Wembley Stadium in front of a record British boxing crowd of about 80,000 fans.
The fight was the main event of a card presented by Matchroom Boxing Promotions and HBO Boxing.
After a first-round jabbing match, a relaxed Groves began boxing Froch in calmly. It was a different Groves from the one who swung for the fences early on in their first fight.
Groves used his jab and got the better of the exchanges in rounds two and three, finishing with either a short left hook or right hand.
It seems that Groves was trying to avoid growing fatigued in the later rounds, when a more experienced Froch would have been more dangerous.
In the fifth round, Froch landed a hard right hand that momentarily staggered Groves. Froch was barely able to take advantage of the situation as Groves immediately took the center of the ring to continue boxing again.
Froch landed several body shots before exchanging with Groves before the end of the fifth. The fight seemed to go Froch’s way by this point.
By the sixth and seventh round, Froch’s experience began to take effect as he landed right hands and body shots on Groves, who was slowly wearing down.
Photo by Scott Heavey/Getty Images
In the eighth round, Froch feinted a right hand, threw a left hook to Groves’ glove, and landed a powerful right hand.
The referee quickly stopped the fight, refusing to count as Groves was on the ground in an awkward position with his right leg bent as he lay down.
Froch retains his IBF and WBA Super Middleweight titles, as possible match-ups with Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., Gennady Golovkin, and even a rematch with Andre Ward may be in his future after his knockout win.
Donaire vs. Vetyeka
Photo by Chris Farina/Top Rank
In a separate event in Macau, China, Nonito Donaire (33-2, 21 KOs) won a fourth-round technical decision over Simphiwe Vetyeko (26-3, 16 KOs) after the bout was stopped due to an accidental headbutt that occurred in the first round.
The bout was the main event of a card presented by Top Rank promotions and which was aired at a later time on HBO Boxing.
In the first round, after landing a right hand and two left hooks to the body, Donaire was cut by an accidental headbutt over his left eye.
The doctor checked his eye at the end of the first round, but as Donaire made his way back to his corner, the blood was quickly dripping from his cut.
The cut was clearly severe, and so the threat of an early stoppage loomed throughout the fight. The action was stopped by the doctor to examine the cut another two times before the bout was finally stopped.
Donaire, with a sense of urgency, began pressing the action in the third and fourth rounds.
Vetyeko managed to back Donaire agains the ropes to land a flurry, but only to be dropped by a powerful left hook. By this point in the fight, it was clear that Donaire would win the fight if the bout would go to the scorecards.
According to the WBA rules, in order for the bout to have been decided by the scorecards because of the accidental headbutt, the closing bell of the fourth round would have to have been rung.
In the post-fight interview with Larry Merchant, Donaire apologized to his fans for the early stoppage, promising that he’d give Vetyeka a rematch to settle their “unfinished business.”
All three judges scored the fight 49-46 for the new WBA Featherweight champion, making him a champion in a fifth division.
All photos by Chris Farina/Top Rank
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Header Photo by Matthew Lewis / Getty Images
