Groves chalks up first stateside win

George Groves made a successful US debut with a sixth round stoppage over Mexican Alfredo Contreras deep on the undercard of Juan Manuel Marquez’s rematch with Juan Diaz at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas last night.

Groves, who captured the Commonwealth super-middleweight crown with an impressive display against Charles Adamu in April, began in typically bullish fashion but was knocked off balance by a right hand which landed high on his temple inside the opening minute. George connected with a good right hand of his own towards the end of the session but had to ship an uppercut from Contreras following a spirited exchange to end an interesting opener.

After taking a few unnecessary shots early on, Groves took over from the third round onwards and drilled Contreras repeatedly with some crisp left hooks and crashing right hands over the top. The punches, delivered with speed and accuracy, flowed beautifully from Groves who is excellent to watch when in full flow.

Contreras, who has been stopped five times in his 11-8-1 record, stood up to Groves’ arsenal and looked likely to hear the final bell in this scheduled eight-rounder. However, a fast left-right combination from Groves 48 seconds into round six prompted referee Russell Mora to step in much to Contreras’ bemusement. The Mexican wasn’t hurt but the contest had become increasingly one-sided with Groves now firmly in control.

The 22-year-old Groves, trained by Adam Booth and supported by stablemate David Haye at ringside, advances to 10-0 (8) and is an exciting talent in a red-hot super-middleweight division. In the main event, potential Amir Khan foe Juan Manuel Marquez unanimously outpointed Juan Diaz in their rematch to retain his WBO and WBA ‘super’ lightweight titles.