George Groves vs. Martin Murray: Winner, Scorecard and Reaction

In a crossroads bout likely to define the future of both fighters, George Groves (24-3, 18 KOs) earned an all-important victory, scoring a wide unanimous-decision win over Martin Murray (33-4-1, 16 KOs) in a WBA super middleweight eliminator Saturday at the O2 Arena in London. 

All three judges scored the bout 118-110 in favor of Groves, per Bad Left Hook.

Though the fight took some time to build up, the two men delivered some action-packed rounds toward the end. Saint George was comfortable in the early rounds and dominated the middle frames, but a spirited fightback from Murray in the last three rounds kept things interesting.

It was too little, too late, however, and the 28-year-old Groves held on for the win, retaining his WBA international super middleweight title and earning a shot at the regular WBA world super middleweight strap that Giovanni De Carolis holds, per Sky Sports.

Boxing Monthly's Graham Houston praised Groves for his efforts:

Murray had no illusions regarding his loss, per Bad Left Hook: 

Murray and Groves have both come tantalizingly close to winning world titles on multiple occasions.

Most recently, both men suffered the sting of split-decision losses in world-title bouts in late 2015, with Groves losing to Badou Jack in September and Murray being unable to overcome Arthur Abraham in November.

Richard Heathcote/Getty Images

Wary of Groves' textbook jab, Murray bounced at the edge of his opponent's range early on. He didn't allow for many openings but also didn't do enough on his own to impress anyone. Groves, for his part, looked content to fire off the jab and bank early rounds.

Bad Left Hook wasn't happy with the lack of action: 

BoxingScene.com's Terry Dooley tried to suss out the strategy: 

"

This is shaping up as a Groves UD, Murray needs a little urgency unless the plan is to come on 8-12 #boxing #GrovesMurray.

— Terry Dooley (@Terryboxing) June 25, 2016"

Murray finally added something positive to the scrap in the fourth round. He trapped Groves in the corner with a flurry of blows and then landed a sharp shot to open a cut near Groves' right eye. However, it was back to regularly scheduled programming in the fifth, with Murray being unable to break out behind a high, tight guard.

Groves fought on and found cracks in the armor. He kept Murray busy with the jab before coming with hooks to go around the side of the guard. A quality shot came at the end of the seventh and signaled Murray's demise, as Groves sneaked an uppercut under Murray's guard to wobble the Merseyside, England, fighter.

Groves poured it on from there, opening up Murray with straight rights before throwing punches to the body and side of the head.

Sky Sports Boxing noted Groves' dominance in the ninth: 

After getting staggered at the end of the ninth, the 33-year-old Murray showed great heart in the 10th, firing away at Groves with a fury not seen since his strong fourth round. 

Boxing Monthly's Shaun Brown liked the showing but felt it came too late: 

With his legs still under him, Groves was able to survive a furious final round and secure the win.

LiveFight.com appreciated Murray's spirit:

Murray proved himself to be a tough out and a class act, but it's unlikely he'll get another high-profile title shot in his career. He's on the wrong side of 30 and wasn't able to reach Groves' level Saturday.

Groves' chin wasn't tested much, but he showed that he is on point tactically. And his stamina didn't leave him, as it had in previous bouts.

He looked more than capable of beating the likes of De Carolis and could then go on to face either Felix Sturm, who may be stripped of his WBA super middleweight title for a positive steroid test, or even Fedor Chudinov.