14th October, 2017
WBA super-middleweight champion George Groves defeated Jamie Cox in the World Boxing Super Series quarter-final with a fourth-round knockout to set up a bout with Chris Eubank Jr.
Groves, 29, ended fellow Briton Cox’s 24-fight unbeaten record as Eubank Jr watched on at Wembley Arena.
Groves delivered a stunning body shot to floor Cox, 31, in the fourth round.
He will face Eubank Jr, who beat Turkey’s Avni Yildirim in three rounds last week, in January’s semi-final.
“I was in tremendous form going into the tournament, it’s another good win,” said Groves.
“I was landing big body shots on Jamie, in the end it was a right hook to the body, it’s a crippling shot – I don’t blame him for not getting up.”
Groves, the tournament’s number one seed, rode some good early combinations from Cox before ending the former Commonwealth champion’s hopes in the fourth round.
It takes Groves’ record to 27 wins in 30 professional fights.
‘The super fight the fans wanted’
The Londoner then told Eubank Jr that the 28-year-old was “not big enough” to trouble him in the last four.
“He’s never boxed anyone like me,” said Groves about his former sparring partner.
“We’ve shared the ring enough times, he knows what I’m all about.”
Eubank Jr added: “It was a good fight, he did what he had to win, not too many cuts and bruises so it looks like we’re on for January.
“Now we’ve got the super fight for the fans. That’s what we wanted.”
What is the World Boxing Super Series?
The World Boxing Super Series has been described as the “Champions League of boxing” with two tournaments, one for cruiserweights and one for super-middleweights.
Each category offers a $25m (£19m) prize fund and a trophy named after late boxing great Muhammad Ali, with the winner of each expected to receive $10m (£7.6m) in total over the three victories needed to land the title.
World Championship belts are also on the line during the individual fights in the new event.
This was the third quarter-final of the super-middleweight tournament, with Britons Callum Smith, Eubank Jr and Groves all now qualified for the semi-finals.
Smith will face the winner of the fourth quarter-final between Germany’s Juergen Braehmer and American Rob Brant, who fight in Germany on 27 October.
BBC