Sunday Punch: Carl Froch’s epic KO of George Groves

Photo by Tom Jenkins/Getty Images

A rare instance of a boxer ending his career on a high note.

This week’s Sunday Punch doubles as an anniversary, because it was on this day (May 31st) in 2014 that two British super-middleweights took part in a mega-rematch at London’s Wembley Stadium.

Carl Froch entered as the reigning unified WBA and IBF champion, having controversially stopped George Groves in their gripping first encounter. Groves had dropped Froch in the opening round, built up a lead on the scorecards, but Froch had George hurt in the ninth round. Referee Howard Foster ludicrously stopped the fight standing even with Groves throwing back and not out on his feet, leading to outrage that Froch got favorable officiating in his hometown of Nottingham.

No need to worry about favorable refs in the rematch, which Froch will remind you over and over again took place in front of 80,000 screaming fans at Wembley.

In round eight, with Froch ahead on two of the judges’ scorecards, he uncorked a massive right hand that flattened Groves. The referee called the fight over mid-count and even as Groves tried getting up he was in no shape to continue. This won Ring Magazine’s KO of the Year for 2014, and you can see why at the top of the page.

That sensational KO was the literal final punch of Carl Froch’s career, as he announced his retirement in 2015 with a record of 33-2 (24 KOs). He is currently working as an analyst for Sky Sports. Groves (28-4, 20 KOs) finally did win a major world title in 2017 when he stopped Fedor Chudinov to take the WBA super-middleweight belt. He lost his title and retired after he was knocked out by Callum Smith in the World Boxing Super Series final in September 2018.