George Groves remains on course for a
fourth world title shot after a comfortable points win over Eduard
Gutknecht. However, distressing
news has since emerged that the German collapsed in the dressing room after the
fight and briefly stopped breathing.
He is currently under close observation at St Mary’s hospital in West
London.
Gutknecht made his intentions clear from
the first bell as he rushed across the ring and connected with a big right
hand. The visitor continued to pour the pressure on in the first two
rounds but his straight lined approach allowed Groves to use his jab to create
distance and negate any threats.
Gutknecht’s best round of the fight came in
the third when he backed Groves up against the ropes and landed a short right
hand. This was as good as it got though as Groves took control for
the rest of the contest, landing a huge right hand in the fourth and some
spiteful body shots in the sixth which all served to slow the challenger down.
The man from Hammersmith then upped the
tempo in the second half of the fight, throwing a hurtful uppercut in the
seventh and further back hands in the ninth which resulted in a nasty cut opening
above Gutknecht’s right eye.
Gutknecht looked discomforted from that
point on but his bravery saw him through to the end of the twelfth. The three judges at ringside scored the
bout 119-109, 119-109 and 119-110 all in favour of the home fighter.
The condition of Eduard Gutknecht’s health
following the fight puts the narrative of the contest into some irrelevance
though. Boxing is a sport served
up between two gladiators for the entertainment of others and anyone that steps
into the ring deserves credit.
Our thoughts and prayers are with the
fighter and his family in this worrying time.
Article courtesy of Neel Khagram @BehindtheFight
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