Winner: Carl Froch beat George Groves with an 8th round knockout in front of 80,000 at Wembley
Big shot: Froch landed a massive right hand in the eighth round that knocked the young challenger out
All over: The Cobra looks down on S George after landing the decisive blow
One knee: Froch then proposed to his girlfriend Rachael Cordingley after victory
And still... Froch retained his IBF and WBA super middleweight titles
Jeff Powell's scorecard
Round One: Very cagey opening with both fighters feeling each other out with feints and jabs. Groves lands the better of the punches.
Froch 9 Groves 10
Round Two: Groves is wrestled to the ground midway but gets up to land two big punches in succession and catches Froch with another big left hand.
Froch 9 Groves 10
Round Three: Whistles and jeers come from the crowd with both fighters rarely throwing punches. But Froch explodes with an attack on Groves.
Froch 10 Groves 9
Round Four: Very aggressive from Groves in the first minute and he lands blows which hurt. He connects another painful punch later on.
Froch 10 Groves 9
Round Five: The crowd are finally on their feet as Froch gets his opponent into the corner then unloads. Groves squeezes out and catches Froch.
Froch 10 Groves 9
Round Six: Froch comes at Groves again early on, taking the fight by the scruff of the neck. It is another tight round, but Froch is taking the initiative.
Froch 10 Groves 9
Round Seven: Groves lights up the round with a straight left which lands square on Froch’s face. Later on Froch retaliated for another close round.
Froch 10 Groves 10
Round Eight: The scrappiest round so far, but one moment of brutal brilliance, a monster right hand, sends Groves to the floor and the ref calls it off.
Froch 10 Groves 8
Froch 9 Groves 10
Round Two: Groves is wrestled to the ground midway but gets up to land two big punches in succession and catches Froch with another big left hand.
Froch 9 Groves 10
Round Three: Whistles and jeers come from the crowd with both fighters rarely throwing punches. But Froch explodes with an attack on Groves.
Froch 10 Groves 9
Round Four: Very aggressive from Groves in the first minute and he lands blows which hurt. He connects another painful punch later on.
Froch 10 Groves 9
Round Five: The crowd are finally on their feet as Froch gets his opponent into the corner then unloads. Groves squeezes out and catches Froch.
Froch 10 Groves 9
Round Six: Froch comes at Groves again early on, taking the fight by the scruff of the neck. It is another tight round, but Froch is taking the initiative.
Froch 10 Groves 9
Round Seven: Groves lights up the round with a straight left which lands square on Froch’s face. Later on Froch retaliated for another close round.
Froch 10 Groves 10
Round Eight: The scrappiest round so far, but one moment of brutal brilliance, a monster right hand, sends Groves to the floor and the ref calls it off.
Froch 10 Groves 8
The Cobra will also count the treasure of money made possible by the premature nature of his initial stoppage win. That will amount to at least £7million once Sky pay-per-view revenues have been added to the live gate of 80,000 which made this the fight of the century in Britain.
The vastness of Wembley Stadium became a Coliseum as the crowd rose to salute this triumph of gladiator.
Once Groves had unscrambled his senses he tottered across the ring to congratulate the champion he had tormented.
In truth Froch had never been in trouble and – perhaps unexpectedly given the weight of opinion that Groves would start powerfully again – ahead on points going into the momentous eighth round.
Supporters of the man from Nottngham had been outnumbered by local Londoners in this great arena but Froch gave his fans their finest hour.
A sharp left set up Groves for the right hook which will take its place in the history of British boxing, along with all the records set by this earth-moving event.
The impact was felt by the host of famous faces in the crowd.
England’s World Cup hopefuls, back here 24 hours after their pre-Brazil warm up win over Peru, England cricket captain Alastair Cook and showbiz celebrities joined the great and the good of boxing on this glittering night.
Jab step: Froch attempts to jab into Groves' midriff
Straight: Groves lands a straight right hand on Froch's chin
Jab: Groves lands again, with a jab
Close combat: Froch and Groves get up close and personal
They
had been drawn like moths to this dazzling oasis of light on a suburban
Saturday night in north London by the prospect of seeing two gladiators
settle business left unsettled by the controversy in which their
first-fight thriller had ended prematurely.
The potential closeness of the rematch had led to weeks of squabbling about who should referee and judge Froch-Groves 11, and how close to the first bell the weigh-in should take place.
Groves had continued trying to aggravate Froch and the defending IBF and WBA champion had hired a psychologist to help prevent him over-reacting, losing his cool and walking onto the kind of power punch which floored in the first round in Manchester six months earlier.
The potential closeness of the rematch had led to weeks of squabbling about who should referee and judge Froch-Groves 11, and how close to the first bell the weigh-in should take place.
Groves had continued trying to aggravate Froch and the defending IBF and WBA champion had hired a psychologist to help prevent him over-reacting, losing his cool and walking onto the kind of power punch which floored in the first round in Manchester six months earlier.
Stumble: Groves hits the deck - but he was shoved down by the Cobra
Some arrival: Groves arrived on a double decker bus to Kasabian
Ready
to rumble? Groves had been ready to grumble about everything but did he
overlook the dimensions of the roped enclosure in which they would do
battle?
That small ring under it’s huge canopy was just 20-feet square,the minimum size prescribed by boxing’s title sanctioning bodies.
That is the champion’s prerogative so Groves could not hope to succeed with another protest, even though he would surely have preferred more space in which to move, use his speed and keep the fight at long range.
Froch, the battle-hardened veteran going into his 12th straight world title fight, was looking for war. Once all his guns were blazing Groves could find no bolt-hole in which to hide and the end came with 26 seconds remaining of his cataclysmic eighth round.
That small ring under it’s huge canopy was just 20-feet square,the minimum size prescribed by boxing’s title sanctioning bodies.
That is the champion’s prerogative so Groves could not hope to succeed with another protest, even though he would surely have preferred more space in which to move, use his speed and keep the fight at long range.
Froch, the battle-hardened veteran going into his 12th straight world title fight, was looking for war. Once all his guns were blazing Groves could find no bolt-hole in which to hide and the end came with 26 seconds remaining of his cataclysmic eighth round.
Pyro: Groves also let off pyrotechnics as he made his way to the ring
Salute: Groves hails the Wembley crowd ahead of the first bell
Low-key: Froch's entrance to the ring was a much more subtle affair than his opponent
Arms up: Froch received a mixture of boos and cheers from the 80,000 inside the national stadium
Let's get ready to rumble: Ring announcer Michael Buffer brought Vegas glitz and glamour to Wembley
All smiles: Amir Khan poses for a photo before the bell
Mrs Froch: Rachael Cordingley sits ringside for the fight
Glamorous: Tamara Ecclestone takes a break from the action
Former boxer Michael Watson was also in the crowd for the big fight
Champ: Former World Heavyweight Champion Frank Bruno watches the action
Punter: Jamie Redknapp had ringside seats for the big fight
Rocked: Groves lands a solid right hand that leaves Froch reeling
On the ropes: Froch has the younger fighter pinned where he wants him
Grimace: Froch reacts after Groves lands a shot with his left
Defence: Groves covers up under an assualt from the Nottingham man
Front foot: Froch goes on the attack but the Londoner takes evasive action
Forward: Groves tries to land a right hook of his own
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