Badou Jack has successfully defended his WBC super-middleweight title by defeating George Groves on a split decision in Las Vegas.
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Groves made a promising start to the bout as he landed a few blows on the 31-year-old, but was then knocked to the ground just before the end of the first courtesy of two right hands from Jack.
The 27-year-old hit back in the second as he put a couple of jabs through the defences of the defending champion, but Jack kept the scoreline close by picking his moments with rights of his own.
Jack took the fight to the Brit in round seven when he connected with a huge left hand, which knocked Groves out his rhythm, but he still composed himself to stay in the bout.
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The 31-year-old began to take the fight away from the Londoner by firing several shots into his mid-section, which appeared to knock the wind out of him as the encounter entered the championship rounds.
With time running out in the bout, Groves went on the assault in the final round and connected with right to the face of the defending champion, and although he swayed slightly, Jack fended off the best attempts of the Englishman to close out the fight on top.
One judge awarded Groves a verdict of 114-113, but the other two gave the fight in favour of Jack by scores of 115-112 and 116-111 respectively.
Simon Sinclair
