Thanks for reading - we’ll have Kevin Mitchell’s report from Manchester shortly. Goodnight!
And there it is. Apart from maybe the last 90 seconds of the last round, Groves didn’t really look in trouble throughout the fight. Eubank’s tactics seemed to be quite confused, going hard but not sustained enough, too many big swinging punches that missed by about a foot. Groves controlled it, and now the question is whether he can get that shoulder sorted by the final, which will take place at the O2 in June. There he’ll face the winner of Callum Smith and Jurgen Brahmer, who fight next Saturday in Nuremberg.
Eubank thought he did enough to win, as boxers do. He wants a rematch, as boxers do. Or as losing boxers do.
“A cut’s a cut, you have to deal with it. If he’s dislocated his shoulder and can’t go through into the final, I don’t know whether that means I go through...”
Groves speaks:
“Terrific fight for the fans. Chris Eubank didn’t bring the pressure he said he would. I dropped him at least once but it didn’t count. Very, very happy with the performance. The shoulder is sore, but I wasn’t going to let anything stop me. The jab was landing correctly all night, when he had success it was because I did something wrong. I’d already hurt him before the cut. Credit to him for getting through the rounds because I didn’t think he would.”
George Groves wins by unanimous decision
As expected. The judges had it 117-112, 116-112, 115-113, all for Groves, who goes through to the final and defends his WBA belt, as well as winning the IBO title too.
Looks like Groves suffered some sort of shoulder injury in that last round. Might explain why he was a bit sluggish towards the end.
Round twelve
Here we go then, last chance for Eubank. He tries another left haymaker but Groves sways out of the way and the shot misses by a good six inches, looking a bit like Neo ducking out the way of a bullet in ‘The Matrix’. Eubank connects with a good right and, to be fair, he’s making a good go of it in the last round and has Groves on the ropes briefly - and for the last few seconds Groves looks very, very weary. The bell goes, both fighters raise their arms but unless something has gone very wrong then Groves will win this unanimously.
Unofficial score: Groves 9-10 Eubank (Groves 117-112 Eubank )
Round eleven
Eubank needs a magic punch now. He finds a good left hook but again can’t land any sort of effective combination as Groves smothers. Then a massive right lands on Eubank and for a split second it looks like he’ll go down, but he manages to stay on his feet. Another left connects and Eubank is forced to go defensive, as much as anything eating up the time he has to get the knockout he needs. Eubank swings from his toes as the seconds tick down, but again can’t land anything much.
Unofficial score: Groves 10-9 Eubank (Groves 108-102 Eubank )
Round ten
Massive left hook lands from Eubank but Groves wears it, and Eubank can’t follow it up again. Groves seems to have an answer for everything Eubank tries, be that a rapid recovery or a counter-punch. Eubank then goes down a couple of times - only to the knee, but neither were knockdowns, more slips/Eubank almost swinging himself off his own feet with big punches that don’t connect.
Unofficial score: Groves 10-9 Eubank (Groves 98-92 Eubank )
Round nine
There’s that cut...
Eubank goes in with some gusto and connects with a couple of more purposeful punches. But again he can’t follow them up and make enough inroads into the Groves defences. Eubank then shoves Groves towards the corner but a clash of heads causes the referee to push them apart. A huge haymaker from Eubank goes awry, and the blood from the cut does seem to be coming out much more and getting in his eyes. A round to Eubank but unless he gets a knockout in the last three then it’s too little, too late.
Unofficial score: Groves 9-10 Eubank (Groves 88-83 Eubank )
Round eight
Still looks like there’s blood coming from that cut. Groves appears to be just as lively as he was in the first round but Eubank now seems much slower - and catching a big right to the mush won’t help, as Groves gets right through and grins, as his opponent looks shaken. Eubank does lands a very solid left hook, but can’t follow it up. Then we really get going, as both men trade blows that both connect. There’s a mini staredown at the end of the round, but the crowd like that one much more.
Unofficial score: Groves 10-9 Eubank (Groves 79-73 Eubank )
Round seven
Eubank gets through with one, tries to push Groves into the corner then goes for an enormous uppercut, but finds Groves had already swayed out of the way and back towards the centre of the ring. The cut on Eubank’s eyebrow might be one reason he’s not getting closer to his opponent and thus not connecting with as many punches as he should be. Eubank goes for a big one but almost swings himself off his feet - Groves pseudo celebrates, and Eubank gives it the big “COME ON”, but Groves ends the round looking like a man in control.
Unofficial score: Groves 10-9 Eubank (Groves 69-64 Eubank )
Round six
Scrappy. Groves gives Eubank a bit of a shove towards/sort of through the ropes but Eubank springs right back up and tries a few big shots before the referee intervenes and tells everyone to be nice. Or as nice as you can be when you’re trying to knock someone’s block off. Great left jab from Groves connects, then Eubanks tries to come in and brawl, but doesn’t get anything much on any of them. Groves still very much in control, and Eubank really does need a knockout.
Unofficial score: Groves 10-9 Eubank (Groves 59-55 Eubank )
Round five
Eubank seems slightly more proactive at the start of this round, but it remains pretty cagey. Eubank catches Groves with an uppercut but as many of his big shots are missing - and by a fair way - as are hitting. That cut above Eubank’s head is still leaking blood but it doesn’t yet appear to be compromising his vision. The referee wags his finger at Groves for one to many punches to the back of the head. Eubank goes in at the very end of the round but still can’t do enough - still, that was probably his best round so far.
Unofficial score: Groves 9-10 Eubank (Groves 49-46 Eubank )
Round four
That cut seemed to come from an accidental headbutt during that flurry of punches from Eubank towards the start of the last round. Groves goes for a big cross but Eubank ducks under it, then goes for a couple of smacks round the side. Eubank then goes in again but Groves sees it coming a mile off and counters superbly. He looks like he’s controlling things and picking Eubank off when he fancies it. Eubank just seems a bit slow and his attacks too infrequent. That said, he does go in and gets through with a hook, which pushes Groves back to the ropes briefly. But, again, probably the round goes to Groves.
Unofficial score: Groves 10-9 Eubank (Groves 40-36 Eubank )
Updated
Round three
Groves connects with a fine jab and Eubank looks shaken, but then he goes in hard and lands with a combination that has Groves back on the ropes. Groves manages to defend himself and get out of trouble for now. Then a cut appears above Eubank’s right eye - not sure which shot that came from but that might change his approach for now. Blood is all over his torso, and it will take a pretty good repair job for his corner to fix him up in the minute between rounds. Groves connects with a couple of jabs and that’s probably his round again.
Unofficial score: Groves 10-9 Eubank (Groves 30-27 Eubank )
Round two
Groves throws a haymaker but misses, then connects with a slightly more precise shot and Eubank briefly looks shaken. Eubank then goes in but gets caught with a good shot from Groves and briefly goes to his haunches, but springs straight back. Eubank goes in and tries to pen Groves into one of the neutral corners, but doesn’t seem to land with anything significant. “Let’s go! Let’s go!” shouts someone from Eubank’s corner.
Unofficial score: Groves 10-9 Eubank (Groves 20-18 Eubank )
Round one
Cagey start. not much of a punch is thrown in the first minute. Many thought Eubank would come out blazing, or at least impose himself early on, but he starts cautiously, almost expecting Groves to make the running. Eubank then goes for a big right cross but doesn’t really connect, and then holds on for the remaining seconds of the round.
Unofficial score: Groves 10-9 Eubank (Groves 10-9 Eubank )
The referee, as ever, asks for a “good, clean fight.” One of these days the man in the middle will say “Look, just absolutely leather each other lads.”
For those of you watching in black and white, Groves is wearing red and black shorts, while Eubank favours gold and black.
Updated
This won’t make too much sense if you can’t see him, but trust me - it’s funny.
Bit of a coup getting Jar Jar Binks as the ring announcer. #GrovesEubankJr
— Neil Gibbons (@neilgibbons) February 17, 2018
Because football ruins everything, the referee gets a little boo when his name is announced.
The ring announcer asks those present to “rise, and remove your hats” for the national anthem. Stovepipes, bowlers and deerstalkers are set aside for the promised dirge.
“Not that we’re making this all about Eubank’s old man,” writes Mark Turner, “but, I’ve backed Junior with fifty pounds of my money because I always liked the way Senior said the word “pugilist”. And that cruncher of a KO punch last time out helps.”
Groves now, and he stands there staring out at the arena for ages as ‘Paint It Black’ by the Rolling Stones plays. Then as the music changes to ‘Spitfire’ by the Prodigy, he prowls at pace to his own podium like a man spoiling for a fight. Which, under the circumstances, is just as well. For those keeping track, Groves seemed to get the bigger whoops from the crowd.
Eubank comes out, great big Union Jack (pipe down, naval nerds) draped around his shoulders, to the strains of ‘Still D.R.E’. First he’s up on a podium thing outside the ring, stares out over the crowd. As a side note, as the crowd prepares to watch two large, extremely strong men pound seven shades out of each other, the swear words from the Dr Dre tune were edited out of the song. Good one.
For what it’s worth, the telly pundits are split: Naseem Hamed reckons Eubank will take it on points, while Duke McKenzie picked Groves.
The fighters are about to come out. Predictions?
Quick line on the undercard results from earlier this evening:
- Ryan Walsh drew with Isaac Lowe (Walsh keeps the British featherweight title)
- Tommy Langford beat Jack Arnfield (Langford retains British middleweight title)
- Zach Parker beat Adasat Rodriguez
- Luther Clay beat Danny Craven
- Sebastian Eubank beat Kamil Kulczyk
- Mikael Lawal beat Adam Williams
- Simon Vallily beat Blaise Mendouo
- Gabriella Mezei beat Belinda Skinner
Not that we’re making this all about Eubank’s old man, but...
@NickMiller79 On the Eubank snr front, can confirm he also did the artic truck thing in Brighton. My first day living there I was walking down the street & greeted by him in a juggernaut shouting "Eubank is here!" through a loud hailer. No one batted an eyelid...
— andrew haslam (@AndrewHaslam79) February 17, 2018
The fighters were collared on their way to their dressing rooms and...well one had some rather more robust words than the other. “Complete and utter victory,” said Eubank, when asked what he was looking for in the fight. “Domination. The tactics are to win by any means necessary within the rules of boxing. I don’t want the fight to go 12 rounds - I want a knockout, I want to make a statement to the rest of the tournament, and to the boxing world.”
Groves was more circumspect, but had the quiet confidence that comes from being very good for a long time. “He knows that once I find my range, he’s got no chance,” he said.
Just a quick reminder that, as well as this being the semi-final of the World Boxing Super Series, both Groves’s WBA (Super) super-middleweight title and Eubank’s IBO super-middleweight titles are both also on the line. Whoever wins this will need some extra bags to carry their gear away.
Preamble
The story goes that when Chris Eubank Snr was in his pomp, he once climbed aboard his articulated lorry (because obviously he had an articulated lorry), drove down Oxford Street in London, let rip on the old air horn and leant out of the window bellowing “EUBANK IS HERE! EUBANK IS HERE!”
Now, his son is not quite as...garrulous a character, but a win over George Groves would elevate him a little closer to the level of the old boy. And his career is certainly heading the right way - as Kevin Mitchell wrote in his preview:
The win that put Eubank’s career on a dramatic upward curve was his jaw-freezing stoppage of Avni Yildirim in the third round of their quarter-final in Stuttgart last October. “After that fight, I turned many haters, doubters and nay-sayers into believers,” Eubank said, correctly.
He described the Turk’s face-first strategy as “irresponsible” and “movie-star fighting”, adding: “I want to spend the money I earn. I don’t want to end up punch-drunk. People get mentally and physically damaged in this sport. I keep my emotions out of boxing. Most fighters can’t do that.”
Groves is one who can. “I could walk away from boxing tomorrow, if I choose to,” he said. “But I ain’t ready to do that yet.”
The common consensus seems to be that if this goes the distance then Groves will have far too much, but Eubank is more than capable of landing a punch enough to render the judges’ opinions irrelevant.
The ring walks should start around 10pm GMT. Should be a good one.
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