LONDON, (Reuters) – George Groves said yesterday he was robbed of the chance to be a world champion, something he had worked for all his life, after he was controversially stopped by double champion Carl Froch.
“Froch has to give me a rematch or retire. That’s his only option. There is no other fight out there for Froch. His credibility is on the line,” Londoner Groves, 25, told Sky Sports.
“I have waited my whole life to be a world champion and I was robbed of that in the fight,” he said.
Groves floored Froch in the opening round of their IBF and WBA super-middleweight title fight on Saturday and was ahead on the judges’ cards when referee Howard Foster stopped the fight in the ninth of 12 rounds with Groves on the end of a Froch attack.
“Howard Foster stopped the fight far too early and he made a terrible decision,” he added. “The decision is wrong and unjust.
“Everyone who saw the fight knows I dominated it. I was still defending myself.”
Groves said he was grieving immediately after the fight, at the Manchester Arena, but now he was angry.
Groves entered the fight unbeaten but performed above expectations, taking the fight to Froch just as he said he would during an acrimonious pre-fight build-up.
He peppered Froch with stiff left jabs and was getting the better of an uproarious sixth round, before showing signs of flagging, which eventually brought about Foster’s intervention three rounds later.
Froch, 36, landed a pair of right hand shots that left Groves sagging and seemingly helpless when Foster jumped in.
His decision sparked uproar, with both corners briefly squaring up in the ring.
Fans who roared Froch to the ring turned on the champion and gave Groves, who they had booed, a hero’s reception.
