Bad Left Hook - Results: George Groves shuts down Glen Johnson in LondonGlobal Boxing News and Commentaryhttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/47131/backingthepack-fave.png2012-12-15T18:46:48-05:00http://www.badlefthook.com/rss/stream/35333272012-12-15T18:46:48-05:002012-12-15T18:46:48-05:00Groves cruises past Johnson
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<figcaption>Scott Heavey</figcaption>
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<p>George Groves faced little resistance from 43-year-old Glen Johnson, winning a fairly easy 12-round decision in London to stay undefeated.</p> <p>If there was any question about what Glen Johnson still had left, that was answered today, as the 43-year-old former light heavyweight world champion was soundly defeated by George Groves in London, losing on scores of 120-107, 120-107, and 119-109. BLH had it 119-108 for Groves.</p>
<p>Groves (16-0, 12 KO) overwhelmed Johnson (51-18-2, 35 KO) for most of the fight, as the faded veteran proved that he's still one of the toughest men in boxing, and remains hard to hit clean with his high guard, but also proved that he's no longer a formidable offensive fighter, and doesn't have much that is going to worry upper-level opponents anymore.</p>
<p>Johnson relied almost solely on trying to set up his trademark chopping right hand, occasionally finding spots to uncork it. He did land a few, but even more than having absolutely no variety in his attack anymore, Johnson, like many old fighters, simply can't pull the trigger quickly enough any longer. Many said during the fight that a prime Johnson would clearly beat this version of the 24-year-old Groves, which is a fine point, but ultimately means nothing. We'll never see that. Instead, we saw Groves beat up a fighter who can still take a shot and little more. Even what he landed had little power behind it, and Groves was never really in any danger whatsoever.</p>
<p>Johnson did manage to stand up to some pretty heavy attacks from Groves, which is good when discussing how tough he is, but not great when discussing any idea that he might continue on in the sport. He could fight, if he wants to face fellow older fighters or guys who just aren't any good at all, and he could win some bouts. But against opposition ranging from Carl Froch to Andrzej Fonfara, Johnson has come up well short in four straight contests now, and his time as a relevant fighter in either the super middleweight or light heavyweight division has come and clearly gone.</p>
https://www.badlefthook.com/2012/12/15/3771274/groves-vs-johnson-results-decision-scores-boxnation-boxing-newsScott Christ2012-12-15T17:40:06-05:002012-12-15T17:40:06-05:00Saunders beats Blackwell by decision
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<figcaption>Scott Heavey</figcaption>
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<p>Billy Joe Saunders might have expected an easier time tonight, but he battled through a game Nick Blackwell to win the British middleweight title, and retain his Commonwealth belt.</p> <p>Top British middleweight prospect Billy Joe Saunders was physically tested by a game and very durable Nick Blackwell tonight in London, but got through the fight with a decision win to capture the vacant British title, and retain his Commonwealth belt. Saunders won on scores of 117-112, 116-113, and 115-114.</p>
<p>Saunders (16-0, 10 KO) is likely better for the experience tonight, as Blackwell (12-2, 6 KO) gave him a good fight for 12 hard rounds, when many likely expected a more dominant effort from Saunders, who did clearly deserve the win. Blackwell's only previous loss was to current world contender Martin Murray in June 2011.</p>
<p>"I think this was dead what I needed. We're all prospects at the end of the day. The difference is, we're different levels. We're the same age, same weight, but we're different levels. I'm 23, they're 23, but I'm British and Commonwealth champion," Saunders said after the bout, speaking of Blackwell, and the likes of John Ryder.</p>
<p>Saunders also called out Chris Eubank Jr again after the fight, which is turning into a bit of a press rivalry in the UK. It's not quite DeGale-Groves level, but it might get there.</p>
<p><a target="_blank" href="http://www.badlefthook.com/2012/12/15/3769278/groves-vs-johnson-abraham-vs-bouadla-live-stream-results-round-by-round-boxnation-boxing-news">Our live coverage of Groves-Johnson continues here</a>, with the main event up next.</p>
https://www.badlefthook.com/2012/12/15/3771116/groves-vs-johnson-results-billy-joe-saunders-wins-british-title-blackwell-boxnation-boxing-newsScott Christ2012-12-15T16:27:27-05:002012-12-15T16:27:27-05:00Smith decisions O'Meara, wins Commonwealth belt
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<figcaption>Dean Mouhtaropoulos</figcaption>
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<p>Liam Smith captured the vacant Commonwealth junior middleweight title today in London with a hard-fought win over Steve O'Meara.</p> <p>Liam Smith battled past a tough Steve O'Meara today in London to win the vacant Commonwealth junior middleweight title on scores of 116-112, 116-112, and 118-110. BLH scored it 115-112 for Smith.</p>
<p>Smith (13-0-1, 5 KO) scored a knockdown on O'Meara (16-3, 5 KO) at the end of the first round, but other than that, the fight was nip-and-tuck pretty much the entire way. Smith seemed to get the better of things as the fight wore on, save for a late charge from O'Meara, and despite scores suggesting he won handily -- he did win the fight for sure -- he got more than a solid test today from the 28-year-old O'Meara. Smith, 24, just got the better of the action in the end.</p>
<p>Still a prospect more than anything, Smith will be in the mix for the British title soon enough. British champion Brian Rose was mentioned by Smith during his post-fight interview, but Smith also said he'll look to defend his new belt a couple of times before aiming for that fight.</p>
<p><a target="_blank" href="http://www.badlefthook.com/2012/12/15/3769278/groves-vs-johnson-abraham-vs-bouadla-live-stream-results-round-by-round-boxnation-boxing-news">Our live coverage of Groves-Johnson and Abraham-Bouadla continues here</a>.</p>
https://www.badlefthook.com/2012/12/15/3770814/groves-vs-johnson-results-liam-smith-decision-steve-omeara-scores-boxnation-boxing-newsScott Christ2012-12-15T15:06:19-05:002012-12-15T15:06:19-05:00Buglioni wins again, beats Healy in two
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<figcaption>Dean Mouhtaropoulos</figcaption>
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<p>Frank Buglioni stayed unbeaten with a two-round win today over veteran Ciaran Healy on the Groves-Johnson undercard in London.</p> <p>Popular super middleweight prospect Frank Buglioni improved to 7-0 (5 KO) today in London, stopping Belfast's Ciaran Healy after two rounds on the Groves-Johnson undercard at ExCel Arena.</p>
<p>Buglioni's fans were out in full force, chanting and singing and jumping up and down, as they do, rooting their man on as he dropped Healy (14-22-1, 4 KO) in the second round. Healy, 37, survived the round, but didn't appear to have much desire to be in there any longer, and called it a night on his stool after the round.</p>
<p>Buglioni, 23, is an interesting prospect. The jury is still very much out on his true potential and what type of ceiling he has, but a fighter having this sort of dedicated fan base with just a handful of pro fights is fairly rare, particularly when we're not talking about, say, an Olympic gold medalist, or the son of a legend, or something of that nature.</p>
<p>Buglioni did take some shots in the fight, but wasn't bothered by any of them. He's still a novice, with plenty of room to improve, and he discussed his need for defensive improvement after the fight.</p>
<p><a target="_blank" href="http://www.badlefthook.com/2012/12/15/3769278/groves-vs-johnson-abraham-vs-bouadla-live-stream-results-round-by-round-boxnation-boxing-news">Our live coverage of Groves-Johnson and Abraham-Bouadla continues here</a>, with plenty more to come.</p>
https://www.badlefthook.com/2012/12/15/3770710/groves-vs-johnson-results-frank-buglioni-tko-2-ciaran-healy-boxnation-boxing-newsScott Christ2012-12-15T14:38:54-05:002012-12-15T14:38:54-05:00Skeete stops Symonds in four
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<figcaption>Scott Heavey</figcaption>
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<p>Welterweight prospect Bradley Skeete turned in a dominant performance today in a step-up fight against Chas Symonds, winning via fourth round TKO.</p> <p>25-year-old welterweight prospect Bradley Skeete outclassed veteran Chas Symonds easily today in London, controlling the fight and dominating from the opening bell, eventually cutting up and stopping Symonds in the fourth round.</p>
<p>Skeete (10-0, 4 KO) appeared to score a second round knockdown, but referee Jeff Hinds somehow ruled it a slip. It didn't really matter in the end, as Symonds (17-6, 5 KO) was simply no match for a taller, longer, quicker, stronger, and younger man.</p>
<p>It's a solid step-up win for Skeete, netting him the Southern Area 147-pound title, his first professional belt, and it was definitely a marked improvement on his last fight, when he struggled with tough trial horse Peter McDonagh on September 14, winning a close 10-round decision.</p>
<p>After the fight, Skeete thanked Sam Webb -- who was unsuccessful in a bid for the British 154-pound title yesterday against Brian Rose -- for pushing him in training camp. Webb retired after yesterday's loss.</p>
<p><a target="_blank" href="http://www.badlefthook.com/2012/12/15/3769278/groves-vs-johnson-abraham-vs-bouadla-live-stream-results-round-by-round-boxnation-boxing-news">Our live coverage of Groves-Johnson and Abraham-Bouadla continues here</a>, with a lot more action still to come.</p>
https://www.badlefthook.com/2012/12/15/3770612/groves-vs-johnson-results-bradley-skeete-tko-4-chas-symonds-boxnation-boxing-newsScott Christ2012-12-15T07:00:37-05:002012-12-15T07:00:37-05:00Groves-Johnson, Abraham-Bouadla: Live discussion
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<figcaption>Tom Shaw</figcaption>
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<p>George Groves tops the bill in London against Glen Johnson, and Arthur Abraham defends his WBO super middleweight belt against Mehdi Bouadla in Germany on this afternoon's BoxNation card.</p> <p>Today from 2:00 pm EST on BoxNation in the UK, it's a big bill from both London and Germany, with George Groves facing Glen Johnson in the main event at the ExCel Arena, and then from Nuremberg, Germany, Arthur Abraham defending the WBO super middleweight title against Mehdi Bouadla.</p>
<p>Abraham-Bouadla will also air on ARD in Germany starting at 4:15 pm EST. BoxNation subscribers can also stream the card at <a target="_blank" href="http://www.boxnation.livesport.tv/">Livesport.TV</a>. BLH will be here with live round-by-round coverage of all the fights.</p>
<p>Groves (15-0, 12 KO) faces 43-year-old Johnson (51-17-2, 35 KO), who is coming in carrying a three-fight losing streak. While losses to Carl Froch and Lucian Bute are nothing to be ashamed of (though Johnson was almost indifferent, it seemed, against Bute), his July loss to Andrzej Fonfara is a bit more worrisome. Nobody sees Fonara as a better fighter than Groves, I suspect, and he clearly beat the aging veteran, enough that <a target="_blank" href="http://www.badlefthook.com/2012/7/14/3158758/friday-night-fights-results-glen-johnson-retired-by-andrzej-fonfara-castillo-win-boxing-news">Johnson announced a retirement</a>.</p>
<p>After the London fights are done, Abraham (35-3, 27 KO) takes on Bouadla (26-4, 11 KO) in what should amount to a routine first defense of Abraham's WBO belt.</p>
<p><b>Also on the London bill:</b> Middleweight prospect and Commonwealth champion Billy Joe Saunders (15-0, 10 KO) looks to add the vacant British title to his collection as he faces Nick Blackwell (12-1, 6 KO) ... The vacant Commonwealth junior middleweight title is on the line between Liam Smith (12-0-1, 5 KO) and Steve O'Meara (16-2, 5 KO) ... Tony Conquest (10-0, 4 KO) squares off against Neil Dawson (10-1, 3 KO) for a minor WBO cruiserweight trinket ... Welterweight prospect Bradley Skeete (9-0, 3 KO) takes on veteran Chas Symonds (17-5, 5 KO) ... Popular young super middleweight Frank Buglioni (6-0, 4 KO) meets trial horse Ciaran Healy (14-21-1, 4 KO) ... and 20-year-old super featherweight Mitchell Smith (4-0, 1 KO) is up against Igor Tsujev (1-0, 0 KO).</p>
https://www.badlefthook.com/2012/12/15/3769278/groves-vs-johnson-abraham-vs-bouadla-live-stream-results-round-by-round-boxnation-boxing-newsScott Christ2012-12-15T04:00:16-05:002012-12-15T04:00:16-05:00Groves-Johnson: Fight time & TV schedule
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<figcaption>Tom Shaw</figcaption>
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<p>Today from the ExCel Arena in London, George Groves faces veteran Glen Johnson in the main event of Frank Warren's BoxNation bill.</p> <p>This afternoon from the ExCel Arena in London, Frank Warren presents a solid card headlined by a super middleweight crossroads bout between Commonwealth champion George Groves (15-0, 12 KO) and veteran former world champion Glen Johnson (51-17-2, 35 KO).</p>
<p>BLH will have live round-by-round coverage of the event.</p>
<p>Here's how you can watch:</p>
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<p><b>Fight Time: </b>2:00 pm EST</p>
<p><b>TV channel: </b>BoxNation (UK)</p>
<p><b>Live stream: </b><a target="_blank" href="http://www.boxnation.livesport.tv/">Livesport.TV </a>(for BoxNation subscribers)</p>
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<p><a target="_blank" href="http://www.badlefthook.com/2012/12/13/3763574/british-scene-george-groves-vs-glen-johnson-preview">Groves vs Johnson preview by Dave Oakes</a></p>
<p>Groves, 24, is hoping to add a name scalp to his record, as the 43-year-old Johnson comes in off of three straight losses, each one a bit worse than the last. Johnson actually <a target="_blank" href="http://www.badlefthook.com/2012/7/14/3158758/friday-night-fights-results-glen-johnson-retired-by-andrzej-fonfara-castillo-win-boxing-news">announced a retirement following his July 13 loss to Andrzej Fonfara</a> in Chicago, but has been lured back into the ring and the super middleweight division by Warren and Groves.</p>
<p><b>Also on the bill:</b> Middleweight prospect and Commonwealth champion Billy Joe Saunders (15-0, 10 KO) looks to add the vacant British title to his collection as he faces Nick Blackwell (12-1, 6 KO) ... The vacant Commonwealth junior middleweight title is on the line between Liam Smith (12-0-1, 5 KO) and Steve O'Meara (16-2, 5 KO) ... Tony Conquest (10-0, 4 KO) squares off against Neil Dawson (10-1, 3 KO) for a minor WBO cruiserweight trinket ... Welterweight prospect Bradley Skeete (9-0, 3 KO) takes on veteran Chas Symonds (17-5, 5 KO) ... Popular young super middleweight Frank Buglioni (6-0, 4 KO) meets trial horse Ciaran Healy (14-21-1, 4 KO) ... and 20-year-old super featherweight Mitchell Smith (4-0, 1 KO) is up against Igor Tsujev (1-0, 0 KO).</p>
https://www.badlefthook.com/2012/12/15/3769246/george-groves-vs-glen-johnson-live-stream-fight-time-tv-schedule-boxnation-boxing-newsScott Christ2012-12-13T15:01:15-05:002012-12-13T15:01:15-05:00George Groves vs Glen Johnson preview
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<img alt="Undefeated British Super-Middleweight George Groves takes on Glen Johnson this Saturday." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/jc6wLv1CbNEQTo7z_JHUT2fdkFg=/58x0:999x627/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/4943455/gyi0064845083.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Undefeated British Super-Middleweight George Groves takes on Glen Johnson this Saturday. | Julian Finney</figcaption>
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<p>Preview of Saturday night's Super-Middleweight match-up between George Groves and Glen Johnson.</p> <p>George Groves defends his Commonwealth super-middleweight title on Saturday night when he faces veteran Glen Johnson. The fight now headlines a strong show at the Excel Arena, London, after original headliner Ricky Burns saw a world title defence collapse twice before being finally being cancelled.</p>
<p>Whilst the fight will be interesting, most people are finding it hard to get excited about it. Johnson ought to provide Groves with his toughest test to date but Groves should win comfortably. Johnson has been a good fighter, one who deserves an enormous amount of respect for what he’s achieved in his career, especially considering the misfortunes he’s suffered along the way, it’s just that he’s not a threat any more.</p>
<p>You probably have to go back to his first meeting with Chad Dawson to find the last time he’s been capable of potentially winning against a top level opponent. That’s the best part of five years ago, it’s true that he’s beaten decent B-level operators like Yusaf Mack and Allan Green since then but it was clear he was never going to beat Froch, Cloud or Bute when he fought them.</p>
<p>The ‘Road Warrior’ wasn’t destroyed or embarrassed by that level of opponent, he just wasn’t a threat to them. The biggest indicator of how far Johnson has faded was the defeat he suffered in his last bout against Andrzej Fonfara. Johnson looked his age in that fight, Fonfara isn’t even a B-level operator yet he had a surprisingly trouble-free night.</p>
<p>It’s telling that Johnson retired after the fight. He knew he’d not got anything left, and if he wasn’t beating the Fonfara’s of the world, then he wasn’t going to threaten at world title level again. You can never be totally surprised at a boxer making a comeback, given that nearly all of them do, but Johnson returning to the ring barely five months since retiring is slightly befuddling. If anyone can tell me what Johnson can achieve or can gain by fighting again, then please send me the answers on a postcard.</p>
<p>Groves isn’t in the top echelons of world boxing, he does aspire to be there though, and it’s hard to envisage a soon to be 44 year old impeding his progress. Very few boxers have an easy night with the durable Johnson, so Groves knows he’ll have to be sensible and pace the fight well, but he should be too quick, too fresh and too hungry for Johnson at this stage of his career.</p>
<p>The fight will be a good learning experience for Groves, who may have a problem or two to contend with early on. He showed he’s got a good boxing brain against DeGale, and with that in mind, he should be able to solve any problems Johnson creates and be in complete control by the midway point.</p>
<p>Groves has said he wants to stop Johnson, and whilst the Londoner does hit hard (12 KO’s in 15 fights), he’ll have his work cut out to halt the battle hardened Jamaican, who has only been halted once in 70 fights – by Bernard Hopkins.</p>
<p>If the stoppage does come, it’ll most likely be late on in the fight due to an accumulation of shots; it’s hard to see Johnson being taken out early or cleanly. The pick is for the fight to go the distance with Groves winning clearly, he’ll move on to bigger tests next year, whereas Johnson will most probably carry on as a trial-horse for up-and-coming prospects.</p>
<p><a href="mailto:oakes352@aol.com">e-mail Dave Oakes</a></p>
https://www.badlefthook.com/2012/12/13/3763574/british-scene-george-groves-vs-glen-johnson-previewDave Oakes