George Groves took another
significant step towards a world title shot in the crowded super-middleweight
division with a fifth-round knockout of the dangerous Noe Gonzalez on Saturday.
Following Tony Bellew’s narrow
victory over Isaac Chilemba earlier in the night, Groves delivered another
popular home victory for the noisy O2 Arena crowd with a stunning right-hand
finish.
Perhaps aided by sparring with
Mikkel Kessler prior to the contest, Groves put on a masterclass to quickly
dispatch the respected Gonzalez, who entered the contest with just two defeats
in 32 professional fights.
The final punch was a flush
overhand right, a worthy blow to win any contest.
“It was something we’ve been
working on in the gym,” Groves said afterwards. “I was looking to speed up my
right hand because when it lands it always causes problems.
“I saw Gonzalez open and
thought this was my opportunity ... and it must have landed right on the
button.”
Gonzalez entered the contest
with decent pedigree, with his only defeat in his last 17 fights coming against
Adonis Stevenson - who is due to fight Chad Dawson for the WBC title next
month.
The Uruguayan made the first
move of the contest - appearing to stun Groves with one of his first punches -
but the Englishman quickly shrugged that off to take control of matters.
In the second, the
Hammersmith-born fighter rocked his opponent with a strong right-hand - before
his left took centre stage in the third, landing flush with more than one
strike as Gonzalez appeared to be struggling to cope with the power of his
unrelenting opponent.
Body shots seemed to be paying
off for Groves as he dominated matters, moving his opponent around the ring
before seemingly picking him off at will. Gonzalez was struggling to evade a
pinpoint jab, failing to offer any sort of retort as Groves returned to his
corner more than once without taking any damage.
It was not obvious that the
finish was coming, but when it did it was suitably devastating. With 51 seconds
gone in the fifth round Gonzalez opened his shoulders slightly - and that was
the only invitation Groves needed, as a downward right-hand drove through the
South American’s jaw, sending him to the canvas.
Getting to his feet on the
five-count, the referee quickly decided Gonzalez was in no state to continue.
“Today I came out and
controlled him from the start,” Groves concluded. “I traded a little bit
recklessly when I didn’t need to ... but the shots were landing hard.
“It was about wearing him
down. I knew he wasn’t going to be able to cope with them.”
Groves quickly targetted a
world title shot in the aftermath - hinting that he would welcome a meeting
with either of the night’s main event fighters, Carl Froch and Mikkel Kessler. (Readthe original story)
