‘The Better Man Won on the Night’: George Groves vs. Chris Eubank Jr. Revisited

On February 17, 2018, George Groves and Chris Eubank Jr. met in the ring at the Manchester Arena as part of the World Boxing Super Series tournament. As the fighters entered the ring on fight night, Eubank Jr. was roundly booed – while “Saint George” was cheered as he made his way in. BFW wanted to take you back to fight night and look at how Groves navigated his way into the final.

George Groves Defeats Chris Eubank Jr.

Recap of Groves vs. Eubank Jr.

As the fight began, Groves showed his experience and ability to control the distance by utilising his jab to great effect, Snapping his opponent’s head back on multiple occasions. Eubank began to let his hands go in round two, but Groves matched and exceeded his output at every turn. The accuracy of “Saint George” stood out when Eubank developed a deep cut near his right eye, which made defending the attacks from Groves even more challenging.

“Sant George” controlled the tempo, with combinations from Eubank few and far between. Groves continued to control the distance and slip his opponent’s punches with ease. Eubank’s desperation became more evident as the fight progressed – but Groves was first to the punch, working his jab well and utilising the right hand, which Eubank failed to deal with. Groves hurt his opponent more as the fight progressed, which caused Eubank Jr. to swing wildly, as blood flowed freely from the deep cut near his right eye.

The Final Bell and Post Fight Quotes

The fight ended with constant pressure from Eubank after Groves dislocated his shoulder, but the experience of “Saint George” saw him through to the final bell, with the judges scorecards reading 117-112, 116-112 and 115-113 for Groves.

After the fight, Groves felt he deserved the decision but paid his respect to his opponent: “The better man won on the night,” said Groves (28-3, 20 knockouts). “Credit to Junior for getting through 12 rounds, I didn’t think he would. Chris didn’t lie when he said he was going to grit it out. That was a terrific fight for the fans.”

Eubank Jr. paid tribute to Groves: “I couldn’t see out of my right eye for most of the fight but a cut’s a cut and you have to deal with it,” said Eubank. “George has got the heart of a true champion and did what he had to do. I thought I did enough in the later rounds to win it. But hopefully, we’ll get the rematch on.”