In an exciting matchup pitting two rivals with a long history of clear distaste for one another, George Groves upset James DeGale, staying busier and generally getting more done to win by a narrow Majority Decision. The scores were extremely tight, and Groves escaped with a verdict of 115-114, 115-114 and 115-115 to improve to 13-0 with 10 KOs, while DeGale loses for the first time professionally, falling to 10-1 with 8 KOs.
It was a unique match for many reasons, first and foremost being that two rising, undefeated fighters were matched at such an early stage of their careers. But their checkered pasts were too good to pass up on. DeGale went on to Olympic gold and glory, but yet it was Groves who defeated DeGale as amateurs. He didn’t make the Olympic squad, however, and DeGale became the super prospect while Groves stayed in the background. The prefight trash talking was intense from both camps, and the hate between them was clearly not for show, it was legit. Groves showed that he has what it takes with sheer toughness and grit. The bout was televised in the US on Epix.
Nathan Cleverly won the WBO light heavyweight title via 4th round TKO against Aleksy Kuziemski. Original opponent, and titleholder, Juergen Braehmer withdrew from their proposed contest earlier in the week. U.K. light heavyweight Tony Bellew stepped up, but then couldn’t fight because he couldn’t make weight. In came Kuziemski, a former Braehmer opponent, and Cleverly was able to put the distractions aside and take care of business, officially advancing from interim to full WBO titleholder. Kuziemski had been cut, however, the fight did not seem like it should have been stopped when it was.
In earlier action, standout prospect Frankie Gavin advanced to 10-0 with 8 KOs, with a unanimous decision win over tough veteran opponent Young Mutley. Gavin keeps on winning, but the performance wasn’t necessarily inspiring, either.
