Tonights Action *Spoilers*

First topic message reminder :

Joshua just about to knock Legg out, Damien and Chris have both text me saying the atmosphere is rocking   

Great knockout. Groves just didnt seem to turn up though. Agree with Trusscargo that at this rate it will be back to small venues and he will lose a rematch to Degale. Groves career will go downhill from here now he has been exposed as chinny

Fair play to Froch. Can't argue with an ending like that. Thought Groves was starting to find his range a little more and then...oops. Little lapse in concentration and it was all over.

Missed the undercard....bloody kids, but enjoyed the main event while it lasted.

Happytravelling wrote:

3fingers wrote:Looking forward to the interviews, lets hope the bad blood is put bed and respect is shared...

Froch is classless. And he's proving it again now.

I'll give him the benefit of the doubt and put the self-promotion down to low self-esteem....which is probaly down to the stick he took as a kid for having a humongous sniffer.

I want to see Froch v Degale. I bet Eddie Hearn does too.

Groves has been exposed as chinny? Never read something so stupid, took a number of clean shots and got dropped by a peach, not what I would call chinny at all.

Owen, Froch didn't lose last time. He has beaten him twice by KO....one was brutal. He didn't turn up first fight which is now really clear.

I had Carl 2 rounds up winning the 1st, 3rd, 5th and 6th. 2nd was a 10-10 and the 4th was groves along with 7th.....but he was very confident with that jab, composed. Just a great champ who was sensational tonight (like against Bute.)

Also, that Bika rumour was true....

Steffan, Groves is definitely not chinny. He was hit with a great shot. It landed as well as any KO shot you could wish to see and I doubt there are many fighters who would have withstood that shot.

Groves has been brought back to Earth with a bump but the first fight definitely proved he has a future in the sport and he hung with Froch well enough in the second fight for it not to be seen as a fluke.

Anyway, bedtime.......

3fingers wrote:

Happytravelling wrote:

3fingers wrote:Looking forward to the interviews, lets hope the bad blood is put bed and respect is shared...

Froch is classless. And he's proving it again now.

I'll give him the benefit of the doubt and put the self-promotion down to low self-esteem....which is probaly down to the stick he took as a kid for having a humongous sniffer.

Very good!   

But, if you can't be gratious in victory, when can you? The man is a shmuck. I appreciate, deservedly, he feels he's been under appreciated and under renumerated, and there is no doubt he has, but to mock the vanquished and rub it in their face, AGAIN, is just classless.

I am now, officially, an anti Froch person.

Froch can now fight whoever he chooses and there are plenty of options, not interested in a Bika fight wouldn't set the pulses racing. Chavez would be a fairly easy payday while Degale could be interesting, would be an ugly fight to watch though.

Froch won't retire, his ego couldn't handle it. Jcc superstar junior must be next.

Probably it for Froch. Nowhere to go but down from this

118-110
117-111
118-110

All in favour - Sam Soliman new champ over Felix Sturm

Fernando wrote:118-110
117-111
118-110

All in favour - Sam Soliman new champ

Wonder if he's off the juice now?

jimdig wrote:Froch won't retire, his ego couldn't handle it. Jcc superstar junior must be next.

Its the obvious choice, and then Ward.

Bika and Degale would be "who cares" fights and snooze fests. Degale was very good tonight but his modus operandi is to stay on the ropes and make hard work of victory. Bika simply tries to grapple and head butt to victory. You would only fight those two if you had to.

JCC or Ward it is!

I would be happy with a Froch v Degale fight. I think Chunky could give him a good match

Both Ward(Dan Goosen) and Chavez Jr(Top Rank) are in contractual disputes

So neither will be fighting in Vegas anytime soon.

Also as for Chavez Jr, if he wants a big pay day. He'd fight Ward over Froch. Why fight Froch for a pair of secondary titles?

Must be awkward for haye being ex stable mates with groves and thick as thieves with froch as an amateur till '02.

Chavez v Bika i surely a fight that suits both of them.

Froch v Degale or Golovkin.

No to a Froch v Ward rematch. Just no.

Chunky will not give froch a fight. Throws too many relatively slow looping punches, compared to groves, and too happy with his back on the ropes without spinning off.

They are on about a Froch v Kessler 3 now

No thanks. Kessler did him in the first fight and was totally shot by the second fight

Degale seems to struggle with sentences with more than a dozen words.

Keep trying, you might get a bite steffan.

Degale seems to have mellowed down a lot recently, not the most eloquent but being more reserved will get him far more fans.

EdWoodjr wrote:Degale seems to struggle with sentences with more than a dozen words.

True. Its an occupational hazard or/or a symptom of class/education. Its fine.

Its because he is chunky

Hammersmith harrier wrote:I can't be bothered rising to your bait fingers.

Good man. For some reason I like a little beef with you. Its nothing personal. Till next time. Goodnight.

As I called it. Groves did OK. Froch clearly the stronger man when it came to the wrestling type stuff.

What an event! Far better than I expected from the undercard and once the Main Event got going, it didn't disappoint. Big KO win for Froch. He seems set on taking a farewell in Vegas against Chavez Jr. Groves did well early but didn't hurt Froch enough to stand a chance late on. Should have thrown more rights and worked the body. He will need to work on stamina too as once again, he seemed to be tiring after four or five rounds. Eddie Hearn pulled it out the bad. Even Degale looked bloody great!

owen10ozzy wrote:So much more classy from groves! That's why Froch should have done first time round!  

Froch gave Groves alot of Credit tonight and gave him a good pat on the back, as for the last fight, Froch won and was booed, so not exactly a great place to be after who had been punched hard in the face for 6 rounds...

Unfinished business has now been finished.

Steffan wrote:Its because he is chunky

Darren gough, the cricketer's nickname was rhino. He thought it was because of the way he charged in to bowl, but actually it was because he was thick. Suspect that chunky might have earned his in a similar fashion... More about the meat between his ears than on his torso.

Froch clearly done his home work and was paying Groves much more respect, first few rounds he nullified Groves speed and power very well, while the fight was cagey and close had Froch just about ahead by about the 6th... Groves did seem to start coming back into it and I was thinking s Groves going to really come alive and take this fight in the later stages, or will he end up walking into Froch Territory. In the end it was a peach of a shot but I dont think its a surprise that he took it in rnd 8, around the stage he does seem to falter.

All I can say is that goodness that's over with and we dont have to listen to Groves fans banging on about an early stoppage.

I am still convinced Froch was on his way to stopping Groves before the slightly early finish... But tonight was game set and match as far as Im concerned.

Seanusarrilius wrote:What an event! Far better than I expect from the undercard and once the Main Event got going, it didn't disappoint. Big KO win for Froch. He seems set on taking a farewell in Vegas against Chavez Jr. Groves did well early but didn't hurt Froch enough to stand a chance late on. Should have thrown more rights and worked the body. He will need to work on stamina too as once again, he seemed to be tiring after four or five rounds. Eddie Hearn pulled it out the bad. Even Degale looked bloody great!

Were you there seany? On the box, looked like groves was getting on top in the 7th and the 8th before a punch from nowhere. Personally I thought groves was just pacing himself, which made it a closer fight. Seems opinion is split... Think we can all agree on the finish though.

tunes666 wrote:All I can say is that goodness that's over with and we dont have to listen to Groves fans banging on about an early stoppage.

I am still convinced Froch was on his way to stopping Groves before the slightly early finish... But tonight was game set and match as far as Im concerned.

Fully agree. I always thought that Froch was the man most adversely affected by the, slightly premature, stoppage in the first fight as it gave Groves an excuse in a fight that he was on his way to losing.

But like you say, no excuses will be forthcoming this time around.

Froch was more cautious early doors and wasnt committing willy nilly like last time so Groves wasnt able to land with regularity and struggled to get a momentum going.

Froch also got the better of most exchanges and held the centre of the ring well. Had Froch up by 3 at the time of the kayo... and what a shot it was to finish it.

All credit to Froch. A top performance and a well deserved victory.

milkyboy wrote:

Seanusarrilius wrote:What an event! Far better than I expect from the undercard and once the Main Event got going, it didn't disappoint. Big KO win for Froch. He seems set on taking a farewell in Vegas against Chavez Jr. Groves did well early but didn't hurt Froch enough to stand a chance late on. Should have thrown more rights and worked the body. He will need to work on stamina too as once again, he seemed to be tiring after four or five rounds. Eddie Hearn pulled it out the bad. Even Degale looked bloody great!

Were you there seany? On the box, looked like groves was getting on top in the 7th and the 8th before a punch from nowhere. Personally I thought groves was just pacing himself, which made it a closer fight. Seems opinion is split... Think we can all agree on the finish though.

I am in Canada, mate. Saw it on HBO. I thought it was a cagey start by both. Had Groves winning most of first 4, but could see his demeanour change after 5. He just seemed to slow a little and hadn't hurt Froch in my eyes. The finish was clinical. Great night's action whichever way you saw it.

... Of course I forgot... How did hbo have it?

No-one seems to agree on any of the rounds. I though froch was getting a lot of credit from the uk commentary for punches that weren't landing, it was obviously a close fight in my book and comes down to the whole 'effective aggression'. Seems unless you're floyd mayweather you don't get much credit for counter punching.

Interesting, froch himself didn't think he was winning... And he's not the shrinking violet type.

Ultimately, none of it matters, when you close the show like he did, and all credit to him for it.

Cagey start from both fighters, Froch was dictating the pace from the centre of the ring but Groves looked like he wanted to circle & pot shot. For me Groves landed the cleaner shots in the exchanges and I had him marginally ahead at the time of the stoppage. I felt GG was playing the long game in this fight. 6th was a very good round for Froch, but the 7th he seemed to lose sight of his gameplan and Groves was able to hit & move more than at any time previously in the fight. This theme continued into the 8th and I felt that Groves was now in the ascendancy, and then bang; right hand out of nowhere ends it.

Sloppy from Groves, had his back on the ropes and his left hand so low, Froch threw the punch from a mile away and it was sheer naivety - maybe even complacency - from Groves that allowed it to connect so clean. The KO left no questions in the sense that we got a conclusive answer, but I felt Groves was taking over a so far even fight just as Froch ended it. Credit to Froch, he always finds a way to get the job done, boxed better tonight and scored a cracking KO. Groves can come again. I'd prefer to see Froch v DeGale than ward as Ward will school him again, but I suspect having given one whipper snapper his title shot Froch will vacate rather than muck about with DeGale in order to land a big final fight in Vegas.

The fight was ebbing back and forth between the both fighters. Rounds 3 and 4 looked like Groves was starting to settle into his rythm. Then 5 and 6 it looked like Froch was getting on top. Round 7 and 8 looked like Froch was getting ragged and Groves tactics paying off and then one punch knock out ends it. I wish the punch had come a couple of rounds later because Id have liked to see Groves work in the later rounds. He seemed to be coping quite well until he got knocked out.

It was a close fight but at no stage did I feel Groves would knock  Froch out,too much was made of Groves success in the 1st fight,Froch couldn't live with Groves speed and footwork, Froch did.Matched Groves on everything and I had Froch ahead in this one.

The KO punch would have felled an ox and Groves at 26 can come back from this and I hope he does,he's a tough kid and chinny he certainly isn't.

Froch should fight a voluntary in Vegas if he can, then retire,battering Degale has no credibility,which Froch would do,Degale doesn't hit hard enough to keep Froch at bay.

Groves v Degale vacant title,and Groves becomes champion,chunky ain't taking Groves power punches.

Good bet on Froch rounds 8 and 9 at 16/1 so not a bad night.

Nice win nico. Hand on heart, halfway through the 8th did you think you were going to get your payout? I'll wager (at probably pretty short odds) that there were a few celebrations, when the money shot landed

Groves' tweet from this morning: Self-deprecation at its best:

Haven't watched it back properly yet but I think... I got knocked the f**k out!

Steffan wrote:Great knockout. Groves just didnt seem to turn up though. Agree with Trusscargo that at this rate it will be back to small venues and he will lose a rematch to Degale. Groves career will go downhill from here now he has been exposed as chinny

I would not call Groves Chinny as such, But I do not think its one of his strong areas that's for sure, he does seem to lose it a bit when he gets touched. But anyone who got hit with that shot was hitting the canvas, it was a cracker.

I think the issue may be more to do with his stamina again, having to push the fight to get more rounds under his belt in the 8th round where he does not seem to be able to hold it all together..

Got to give it Froch, controlled the fight something he didn't do in the first. I had it 5-3 to Froch going in the 9th. Groves was starting to get back into it and Froch finished him in style, game over.

Groves has earned more in this fight then most in there entire careers. I think he needs to take a little break then get a new trainer that will actually train him. Paddy Fitzpatrick is a good trainer but I think the premise the relationship was built on won't improve him as a fighter as he's the one calling the shots.

It will be interesting to see who he ends up with next.

Credit where it's due to Froch. Proved me totally wrong. I had no idea he had that kind of single punch power, had him one ahead at the time of stoppage and this time really established that jab. Good performance and a spectacular shot.

DAVE667 wrote:Steffan, Groves is definitely not chinny. He was hit with a great shot. It landed as well as any KO shot you could wish to see and I doubt there are many fighters who would have withstood that shot.

Groves has been brought back to Earth with a bump but the first fight definitely proved he has a future in the sport and he hung with Froch well enough in the second fight for it not to be seen as a fluke.

Anyway, bedtime.......

I'm not so sure, you hardly ever see Froch drop an opponent with one punch never mind KO him. Groves was hurt a number of times against Degale who is no puncher and was dropped by Anderson, so it was quite logical the next step in power would take him out completely and that's what happened.

For what it's worth I had Groves ahead 5-2 at the time of the time of the stoppage, Froch landed hardly anything clean and he was just getting cheers for just rushing in and missing flurries of punches in Groves gloves. The only clean punches i saw were from Groves but really there were too few of them, average fight but a great finish!

Thats what happens when you have fighters who use movement not there guard to avoid punches, when they're caught it's normally flush and thats what happened last ight

Anyone can be knocked out if caught flush, and given the six eof the 2, groves lack of a granite chin and frochs heavy hands a KO isn't that surprising to me

For what it's worth i had froch 1 up at the time but groves was winning the 8th and seemed to have a bit of momentum although i'd pick froch to come on stronger had it continued

A lot of people saying froch established the jab. I didn't think either fighter really did, and I haven't seen the punch stats but I thought it was groves who landed more... and cleaner jabs. Froch in the post fight interview said he was being beaten to the jab. I can see that he did better on that front than the first fight, but that's as far as I'd go with it.

Am really having to resist the urge to gloat, but correct predictions from me are something of a rarity, so you may have to indulge my smugness today.

We'll indulge it today rowley and tolerate it for the rest of the year like we usually do.