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George Groves started very slowly tonight in Liverpool, but ended impressively, stopping Denis Douglin in the seventh round after a hard knockdown and about 30 seconds of an offensive onslaught that forced referee Victor Loughlin to step in.
Groves (21-2, 16 KO) took about three rounds to get going, but once he settled in and found a home for his power shots, the sort of fight that was expected began to unfold. Groves was able to overpower Douglin (17-4, 10 KO), who was fighting at a full 168 pounds for the first time. To be entirely fair to Douglin, the 26-year-old "Momma's Boy" absolutely did come to fight and not just roll over, and his southpaw stance gave Groves some early fits. In the end, the fight was as predicted by everyone, but Douglin was there to win.
Groves, 26, now has two straight wins following his crushing rematch loss in May to Carl Froch, and is currently the mandatory challenger for WBC super middleweight titleholder Anthony Dirrell.