By Andy Clark: Referee Howard Foster made himself public enemy number one, with one of the worst stoppages in recent memory. Foster waved an end to the fight in round 9 and ruined what was shaping up to be one of the best break-through performances in a British ring, or any ring for that matter, as George Groves battered Carl Froch from pillar to post for the majority of the fight.
On Thursday, Groves spelt out to Froch exactly how the first round would go. Groves lived up to that promise and then some. Groves was schooling Froch in the first round before landing the first of the two right hands, the second, dropped Froch hard. Froch somehow made it to his feet after being hit with a sensational right hand and just about made it out of the round.
Groves continued to dominate the fight and was five rounds up on my scorecard, going into the 9th round. Groves performance was spectacular. Groves was the stronger, faster, smarter fighter on the night. Groves claimed before the fight that he had been working on the game plan to beat Froch for years and it showed. Groves performance was nothing short of sensational.
Froch ramped up the pressure in round 9 and landed his only hurtful punch of the fight, sending Groves back against the ropes. Groves protected himself and came back swinging as both fighters swung wildly. As the fighters came together Groves stumbled to his right, unfortunately Howard Foster was stood too close to the fighters. Groves stumbled into the referee (whilst protecting himself) and Foster took the opportunity to save Froch’s blushes and called an end to the fight, to the absolute disgust of everyone watching.
There was an ugly atmosphere after the fight, which came close to boiling over, such was the absolute outrage at the stoppage. After the fight Froch had the opportunity to be humble but when questioned by Sky Sports on the stoppage, Froch answered “I thought it was a fair enough stoppage”. Groves replied “he caught me with a good shot, but that should never have been a stoppage”. “I had it taken away from me tonight, unjustly, but Ill be back, fitter and stronger”. “Im gutted, Im truly gutted.”
It would appear that even if the referee had allowed the fight to continue, the victory would have been snatched away from Groves on the scorecards, as they revealed after the fight, that two judges only had Groves up by one round. The fight left a bitter taste in everyones mouth and a rematch has to happen. Whether it will, Im not so sure.
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