Badou Jack vs. George Groves: Winner, Scorecard and Reaction

In a spirited back-and-forth bout on the Mayweather-Berto undercard, Badou "The Ripper" Jack won his first defense of the WBC world super-middleweight title against "Saint" George Groves via split decision at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

Showtime Sports provided the cards:

The fight was indeed as close as the cards indicated. Groves (21-3, 16 KOs) had arguably faced better competition up to this point in his career, but Jack (20-1-1, 12 KOs) looked the part of a champion early on with a first-round knockdown.

Groves bounced back almost immediately, outworking Jack for much of the fight. However, Jack—who took the WBC super-middleweight belt from Anthony Dirrell earlier this year—did clinical bodywork to slow down George and win deservedly.

Jack complimented his opponent after the fight, per Bad Left Hook:

It's another disappointment for Groves, who told the Daily Mail's Adam Smith, "Since I was seven years old, I've been dreaming about becoming world champion." Groves had two chances to win world titles against Carl Froch but lost them both in resounding fashion. Unfortunately for the Londoner, the third title shot was not the charm.

It was an inauspicious start to the bout for Groves, who, despite being the challenger, was a slight favorite in the match, per Odds Shark. After a few minutes of ineffective jab work from both fighters, Groves sent out a weak exploratory jab and paid the price. Jack pounced on the opening, wobbling Groves with a hard right cross, then dropped him with a right hook. 

Yahoo Sports' Kevin Iole thought the first shot was the more significant one:

Hurt but undeterred, Groves got right back into the fight, throwing combinations out from behind a high guard. Jack made the smart decision to work Groves' body with the jab, knowing his opponent has questionable stamina.

John Locher/Associated Press

Jack also landed a couple of nice uppercuts and was well ahead of Groves in the power-punch department after four, per SHO Stats: 

Groves got busy in the fifth, stunning Jack multiple times with a powerful overhand right, which he set up with his firmly established jab. Jack was the more accurate puncher, but Groves' work rate was beyond that of the titleholder. The hard work paid off in the sixth for the Englishman as he got the better of several punishing exchanges.

Bad Left Hook liked the way Groves was taking control of the fight:

Showtime Sports showed him dishing out some punishment: 

Concern over Groves' stamina was not unfounded. In his back-to-back losses to Froch, Groves faded badly in the later rounds after bright starts. Jack honed in on this weakness in the late rounds. Groves' fists kept flying, but cracks showed up in his defense.

A couple of great hooks to the body, one of them a bit low, deflated Groves in the eighth round. SHO Stats had the discrepancy in body punches after eight rounds:

Jack had to eat several big right hands to get into Groves' danger zone. It was all in service of slowing down Groves and holding on to the advantage he built up in the early rounds. Groves looked depleted by the 10th, per Bad Left Hook's Tom Craze:

Jack might've had trouble filling his lungs as well. Not known as a volume puncher, he missed opportunities to pressure Groves late. Despite looking completely haggard, Groves found some deep reserves of energy and kept peppering Jack with shots to the head.

It was a spirited final push—and the final round was the best and most brutal of the fight—but it wasn't enough to win the title.

With the win in hand, Jack may look to move up in weight for his next bout. "I think...it's going to be hard for me to make 168. I think I'm going up to 175 next year," he said prior to the bout, per BoxingScene.com's Rick Reeno.

At 31 years old, Jack could fare well at 168 pounds. Groves, who's had issues with stamina, might also be better served by moving up in weight class. He has a strong jab and enough power to make good fights at the next level.