Froch stops Groves to retain super middleweight titles

Manchester, England (Sports Network) – Carl Froch scored a controversial technical knockout of fellow Brit George Groves in the ninth round to successfully defend his WBA and IBF super middleweight titles on Saturday.

Froch (32-2) overcame an opening-round knockdown to Groves and several offensive flurries from his lightly tested challenger during the bout’s early stages, turning the tide of the fight with a barrage of punches in the ninth before referee Howard Foster stopped it amidst a chorus of boos from a crowd that Groves had appeared to win over.

Groves (19-1) had reportedly been ahead on all three judges’ scorecards at the time of the stoppage.

Froch was making his first defense of the WBA belt he won with a unanimous decision over Mikkel Kessler in May. The 36-year-old has held the IBF title since May of 2012.

On the undercard, WBA super bantamweight champion Scott Quigg floored Diego Oscar Silva in the second round to retain his crown.

Quigg (27-0-2) sent Silva (29-3-2) to the canvas twice in round two, the last coming from a devastating right hook that prompted referee Terry O’Connor to halt the fight at the 1:41 mark.

Categorized in: Boxing