Saint George Slays Degale for a 2nd time.

Saint George Slays Degale for a 2nd time.

Sunday 22nd May

George Groves out pointed James Degale in what was the biggest grudge match in England since the days of Benn, Eubank and Watson. With both fighters looking supremely confidant, they took trash talking to another level and publicly expressed extreme distain for one and other. In the end, in a very close fight it was Groves who came out the winner for a 2nd time, winning the British title to add to his Commonwelth super middleweight belt with a majority decision 115-115, 115-114, 115-114 on the score cards.

They say some fighters have other fighters number, and this certainly looks the case when it comes to Degale and Groves. The amateur contest between the two ended with a Groves victory 6 years ago, Groves won that tournament and since then Degale went to the Beijing Olympics and won a gold medal. Throughout this time, the animosity and needle has been growing, with both fighters trading insults for years until this point.

Leading up to the fight the press conferences had been particularly interesting, one saw the two nearly come to blows, another had Degale claiming to cover Groves fight purse should he win the fight. The trash talking had all and sundry licking their lips at the prospect of the first bell and what everyone thought would be a good old tear up.

The fight itself in front of an atmospheric 19.000 plus fight fans in the 02 Arena, unfortunately did not live up the pre-match hype. Although it was gripping throughout and intriguing until the end, the fight never really caught fire like we all expected it to. The early stages was very tentative, with Groves getting better of the exchanges with the quicker sharper boxing. Both fighters though unexpectedly kept standing off which did have a few fans jeering.

As the fight went on it was clear Groves game plan was to outbox Degale from far and spoil up close, Degalae was visibly surprised and thrown off guard by these tactics as he struggled to get into any rhythm. With every round looking too close to call, it was clear this fight could go either way, and only an odd moment here and there could win the round.

Both men were cut in the ninth round, and to me this was the round that Degale really showed his ability, he began to push the pace and throw combinations. It looked as though Degale was about to over in the fight as he finished the round looking strong and on top.

Surprisingly, Degale did not continue these tactics into the 10th round, you could have made an argument for him winning it, but again this was a round that could have gone either way as Groves again impressed with his boxing, while Degale stalled and failed to throw enough telling shots. A horrible head clash in the 11th saw Groves receive a nasty gash in the middle of his head, this allowed Degale again to push the pace and aggressively come forward throwing shots to clearly win the round as the blood began to pour from Groves head.

As both fighters came out for the last round the fight was on a knife edge. Groves had looked sharp in the early rounds and boxed his way into a lead but Degale’s strength and aggression allowed him to come back in it and claim the later rounds. With both fighter physically tired it was not a barn storming last round we hoped for but both still threw leather to the final bell.

Typically both fighters held their arms aloft claming they were the victor, ignoring the customary end of fight embrace proving this fight really was personal. After the verdict, Degale obviously looked extremely disappointed and headed straight for the dressing room where he received stitches for a cut under his eye, while Groves with a gleaming smile was left to receive the adulation from the crowd his trainer Adam Booth and the World heavyweight champion David Haye.

Backstage, promoter Frank Warren, clearly looking disappointed said Degale “gave the fight away” in essence disregarding the performance of underdog Groves, what was even more alarming was Warren demanded a “immediate rematch” ? On what grounds Frank? sour grapes if you ask me. Despite that, im sure nothing will take the smile off George Groves face, and maybe just maybe he will grant Degale a rematch sometime in the future, that is if Degale ever recovers from this devastating loss.