George Groves was far too good for Eduard Gutknecht at Wembley
Saturday 19 November 2016 00:21, UK
George Groves remains on course for a fourth crack at a world title after a unanimous points victory over Eduard Gutknecht at the SSE Arena in Wembley.
Gutknecht is an experienced fighter and made Groves work hard but the 28-year-old Londonder was too slick and comfortably defended his WBA International super-middleweight title.
And there was distressing news after the fight, when Gutknecht fell ill in his changing room and was taken out on a stretcher to hospital.
The German landed the first good shot of the night but that served to liven up Groves, who quickly began to settle in and began landing shots with regularity.
Groves lost his footing when he was pushed in the second but that did not disturb his equilibrium and he landed a really good shot in the fourth.
The Brit was searching for a fourth consecutive win after the disappointment of losing to Badou Jack last year and he really began to up his game in the seventh, landing a powerful right, before going on to dominate the eighth, dictating behind his reliable jab.
A nasty cut then opened above Gutknecht's right eye as Groves landed blow after blow in the ninth.
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And Gutknecht was in trouble again in the 10th but stayed on his feet and keep Groves up to his work.
The Brit landed some more solid shots in the 11th but he sensibly kept his exhausted opponent at a distance.
Gutknecht thoroughly deserved to reach the final bell and duly did so after a fairly quiet 12th but Groves was in charge once again and there was no doubt he had done enough to secure the win.
Two of the judges scored it 119-109 to Groves and the other made it 119-110, leaving him well placed for another shot at that elusive world title.
Groves told Boxing on 5 after the fight: "I am very happy with the way I fought.
"We knew he was fit and had great powers of recovery but I feel I set a great tempo.
"I learned a lot tonight and it has been less than a year I have been working with Shane McGuigan.
"We are going from strength to strength and next year we are going to take over the world!"
