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George Groves defends his WBA (Super) super middleweight title for the first time against unbeaten Jamie Cox on October 14th, 2017 at the SSE Arena in Wembley London.
The bout is part of the ongoing World Boxing Super Series super middleweight tournament which began in September. The winner of this contest will move forward to face the winner of the October 7th match between Chris Eubank Jr. and Avni Yildirim.
Grizzled Veteran
Groves is the grizzled veteran who brings an impressive record of 26-3 with 19 KOs. He has won five fights in a row and has not lost since being outpointed by Badou Jack in 2015. Groves is well known for his two fights with Carl Froch and although he lost both fights, he is a force to reckoned with.
Jamie Cox is the 2006 Commonwealth Games gold medalist who has compiled a record of 24-0 with 13 KOs . Cox will be making his first ever world title fight appearance and unfortunately for him, he is doing so against one of the toughest super middleweights in the business.
Big Step Up
Groves is a -450 favorite at Bovada to beat Cox, who is currently at +325. Groves biggest advantage is his vast fighting experience. He’s fought some of the best names in the weight class Fedor Chudinov, Martin Murray, Badou Jack, Carl Froch (twice), Glen Johnson, James DeGale. Groves may only be a modest 4-3 against those fighters, but still he has proven that he can compete at world title level.
In his most recent bout, Groves finally became a world champion after three failed attempts. Groves knocked out Chudinov in the sixth round of their WBA (Super ) super middleweight title bout. He then entered the 8-man World Boxing Super Series – super middleweight division tournament. His first assignment is the unbeaten Cox.
Cox has the tools to win this fight. His fast combinations and punching power are no fluke. He can turn the tide quickly and win this fight in a hurry. Cox is a pressure fighter who likes to bring the fight to his opponents. Five of his last six victories have been by knockout. But this bout won’t be decided by punching power. Rather, it will be won with experience and boxing ability. This is such a huge step up in level of opposition for Cox. He might not be able to rise to the occasion.
An Explosive Fight
Although he was stopped twice by Carl Froch, Groves is no easy man to put down. He’s a brawler who’d gladly accept Cox’s invitation to meet at the center of the ring. He has power in both hands and although he has good defense, he’d rather take some more punishment in order to deliver some. Seven of Groves’ last 10 wins have been by stoppage, so this is going to be an explosive fight.
But when it goes down the stretch, it’s going to be Groves’ boxing that will shine. We’re not expecting this fight to end by knockout. We think this is going to be a long and hard grinder. In the end, the more experienced boxer should win it. This should be a good fight. We’re picking George Groves to win on points.
