In the aftermath of one of the all time great British fights between young contender George Groves and seasoned champion Carl Froch, the fight itself was almost forgotten. A classic marred by a decision by referee Howard Foster to stop the contest a few seconds early, denying a fighter of a sensational stoppage, and a legacy that would go beyond any of his predecessors.
I have no doubt at all in my mind that Carl Froch was on the brink of knocking George Groves out in that infamous ninth round, and had Foster allowed Froch to finish the contest himself, the fight would have gone down an instant classic, fight of the year and Froch would have moved on, as would Groves.
The stoppage left a sour taste in many people’s mouths. It was a few seconds early, there is no question. Groves had fought a near perfect eight rounds prior to the ninth, even managing to drop Froch in the first round. Groves made the Nottingham native look his age. He completely destroyed Froch, to the point that he won every single round in the fight.
Booed on his entry to the ring, Groves looked a man on a mission, landing whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted. Froch was the overwhelming bookmakers and fans favourite, but what Groves did in the ring turned the crowd in his favour. He left us all with our mouths open as he out-toughed the tough guy.
In the aftermath of the fight, a distraught George Groves sat ringside with Froch. Instead of the champion being gracious in victory, he was the complete opposite, a bad winner, the worst kind of winner. He didn’t say that he was losing the fight, he gave Groves little to no credit. The fans, who had already began to sway in Groves’ favour because of the way he fought, were now completely behind the Londoner. Everything that came out of Frochs’ mouth was being booed. And he just wouldn’t stop.
For a guy who was so gracious when he beat Mikkel Kessler, making himself a national idol, GQ magazine’s man of the year, had completely ruined his image in just a short few minutes.
If they rematch, I’d imagine that Groves would be the overwhelming fans favourite, unless they fight in Nottingham of course.
Does Froch deserve to be booed in the rematch? Possibly yes for his behaviour post fight. But he is a warrior. A fighter who took on all comers in his career. A four time world champion at Super-middleweight. Maybe on his resume alone, he should be given the benefit of the doubt. But, the British public love the underdog story, so it would be hard for the fans not to support Groves in the rematch, if there will ever be one.
So, will there be a rematch? I’d have to believe that there will. Froch is a proud man, and he won’t like that articles that are being written about him, and I’m sure he’ll want to set the record straight. As for Groves, he’ll jump at a rematch. He schooled Froch for eight rounds, he’ll believe he can go one step further and knock Froch out.
