Groves dominates Murray to move one step closer to world title dreams

Last Saturday, George Groves and Martin Murray, as many predicted, stole the limelight at the O2 arena as they went toe to toe for twelve rounds in an all action domestic bust-up. With seven world title attempts between them, this was very much last chance saloon for the pair with the loser unlikely to ever get another shot at a world title.

West Londoner, Groves, certainly looked the more comfortable of the two in the early rounds, establishing his jab early on with Murray looking like a rabbit caught in the headlights. The fight burst into life in the fourth round when the Lancastrian started to put some kind of pressure on Groves throwing some combinations for the first time in the fight.

However, that was to be one of only a few successes that Murray was going to have as it was clear the gap in class with Groves throwing the far cleaner and harder punches wobbling Murray on a number of occasions. It seemed as if Murray was relying on Groves’ gas tank to betray him however with the minimum amount of pressure that Murray was putting on Groves, it took until the twelfth round for him to be visibly tired.

Groves ran out comfortable winner on all three of the judges’ scorecards 118-110 however it must be said that he just does not look anywhere near the same fighter as he did under Adam Booth. It is sad to see because I am a massive George Groves fan but his punches do not seem to have the same vicious snap on them that they used to have however having said that there is no doubt that he can win that so far elusive world title to show for the immense talent he possesses.

Where does Murray go from here? Having lost all four of his world title attempts and now to Groves it looks as though he will not achieve his world title dreams. His power was limited at middleweight let alone at super-middleweight and he just did not look like a elite level fighter on Saturday. It is unlikely that he will want to go back to domestic level however there is nowhere else he has to go.

It looks as though Groves will be heading for the WBA (super) title which is very much up in the air at this moment in time. Felix Sturm after defeating Fedor Chudinov then subsequently failed a drugs test so it looks as though Groves will face Chudinov for the title which should take place at the end of the year and is a very winnable fight for him.

If Groves can realise his world title aspirations, then the fight he is forever linked with is the rematch with amateur rival James DeGale. This is a fight that all UK fans want to see largely because of the bitter rivalry that was clearly apparent during the build-up to their fight in 2011 which Groves won. However, DeGale has vastly improved and will certainly be favourite to avenge his only professional loss. This is the only fight at super-middleweight which excites me and if Groves should win a title, fans will be licking their lips at the possibility of a unification fight.

Tom Eckett

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What to expect from Sky Sports this weekend

This weekend, Sky Sports have picked up two cards, one from the O2 Arena in London where IBF heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua takes on unbeaten American Dominic Brezeale and across the pond in America WBA welterweight champion Keith Thurman, takes on Shawn Porter at the Barclays Centre in Brooklyn, New York. Both cards have their strengths and weaknesses but both have the potential to be intriguing nights of boxing.

At the O2 Arena, the main event is overshadowed by its co-feature as George Groves takes on Martin Murray in a fascinating domestic clash which, for the loser, will spell the end of his career at the elite level. Martin Murray has had a tough time since he moved up to super-middleweight. The fighter from St. Helens lost to Arthur Abraham in a split decision and that defeat would have hurt even more when he saw Gilberto Ramirez dismantle the veteran German six months later.

He is in a contest with a seemingly rejuvenated George Groves who is on the comeback trail with new trainer Shane McGuigan after he lost to Badou Jack back in September. This should be an easy night’s work for Groves who should control the pace and range of the fight with his ever-present jab and with Murray’s power lacking at the 168 lb limit there is little Groves has to worry about coming back the other way.

The rest of the card is very typical of Matchroom Sports and Eddie Hearn’s style of card. Joshua is 1/33 to win, Chris Eubank Jr. is 1/20 to win, Dillian Whyte was 1/33 before his opponent pulled out and then Kal Yafai’s opponent is yet to be announced. This is what happens in every major PPV event that Hearn puts on; he attracts the casual fans by putting big names on the card in meaningless fights and because Joe Bloggs has heard of the fighters he buys the event on Sky.  

It is safe to say that all these fighters mentioned above will win in relatively easy fashion and if by some miracle one of them is in a hard fight then Hearn will claim that he matched them well. One cannot deny Hearn’s ability as a promoter; he could sell sand to the Arabs however he could be matching his fighters far harder which would improve the Matchroom brand and more importantly make his fighters better so when they reach world level they have already had the experience required to deal with difficult situations.

In the States, Keith ‘Onetime’ Thurman’s fight with Shawn ‘Showtime’ Porter is a mouth-watering encounter which can certainly be labelled as a genuine 50/50 fight. Porter is a pressure fighter, that is his main strength, however against a fully-fledged welterweight such as Thurman Porter will not be able to 'bully' him as he has been doing against his other fighters.

This was highlighted in the fight against Kell Brook, Porter was unable to put the required pressure on Kell to get the victory and this could very much be the same in a fight against Thurman. If Porter is able to get on the inside then he could have a chance of winning the fight, however I think Thurman's strength and power will not allow him to do that. Porter will certainly have to answer a lot of questions over his ability to dominate the best welterweights like he has been able to do against other fighters.

I just think this fight is all wrong for Porter, unless Thurman tries to start trading shots with him, the undefeated Thurman should win this fight, however it is a tough one to call and this is boxing – anything could happen.

With the Mares vs Cuellar fight being cancelled and the PBC not replacing it, the undercard is extremely weak with the co-main feature being Jarrett Hurd vs Oscar Molina. However with the main event being of the highest calibre it is difficult to knock the PBC for this one and it is fantastic that Sky have picked up this card.

Tom Eckett

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George Groves vs Martin Murray: An early look

With seven world title attempts between them, George Groves and Martin Murray have been the nearly men of British boxing over the past few years. After both suffering split decision losses in their last respective title shots, the two are both on the comeback trail hoping to get another chance at winning that so far elusive world title.

West Londoner, George Groves, has now had two fights since he teamed up with trainer Shane McGuigan back in November. In those fights he dismantled Italian, Andrea Di Luisa and unbeaten Scot, David Brophy. It was clear the gap in class in both those fights and now it is time for Groves to make the step-back-up to elite level again.

Martin Murray has had one of the most unfortunate careers in boxing. He was robbed in his first two world title shots against Felix Sturm and Sergio Martinez and then came up against Gennady Golovkin and even managed to last 11 rounds. However his most recent performance against Abraham was poor especially when one considers what happened to the German out in the US against Gilberto Ramirez.

This is a perfect crossroads fight for two fighters who both genuinely believe they can win the fight. The stakes are high however as defeat would almost certainly eliminate either fighter’s chances of another shot at the world title.

There are certainly big question marks over both fighters. Murray does not look the same fighter at super-middleweight as he did at middleweight and lacks any kind of power to worry his opponents. There have always been question marks over Groves’ gas tank and he has not looked his same confident self ever since he split with trainer Adam Booth.  

Having said that, this will be an easy night’s work for Groves who, after, will be looking to manoeuvre himself into another position to fight for a world title. His jab has always been of the highest order and with it he will be able to control the range of the fight with ease. To say Murray is shot would be a step too far however his best days are well behind him and even in the weak 168 lb division it is unlikely he will succeed in his quest for that elusive world title.

Tom Eckett

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