By Scott Gilfoid: If boxing fans were hoping that British and Commonwealth super middleweight champion George Groves (14-0, 11 KO’s) change his mind about wanting to fight James DeGale again so that he could actually prove that he’s the better man after winning a fight that many fans saw DeGale as the victor, they were sadly disappointed last night when Groves said DeGale still isn’t on his radar. Groves, 23, defeated former British super middleweight champion Paul Smith (31-3, 17 KO’s) by a 2nd round TKO last night at the Wembley Arena in Wembley, London.

Smith, 29, was knocked down twice in the 2nd. After the 2nd knockdown, the referee Victor Loughlin halted the fight rather than letting Smith get up and try to recover. I guess I can’t blame the referee for halting the fight because the badly hurt Smith wasn’t doing the smart things that he should have been doing after getting hurt like clinching for instance. Not sure if that kind of basic thing was ever taught to him by his trainer or not but he sure wasn’t showing that he knew what to do after getting dropped with a straight right to the chin in the 2nd round.

Groves didn’t look impressive in the fight apart from the knockdowns. It was Smith who dominated the first round with a handful or power punches, in particular a beautiful right-left combination that he nailed Groves with at the end of the first that drove a shaken looking Groves to the ropes. In the 2nd round, Smith continued to press the attack but was dropped by a right hand on the chin while attempting to throw a shot of his own. That punch finished Smith for all practical purposes. Like I said, Smith should have rode out the round by clinching but instead got back up to his feet and tried to resume slugging it out. All Groves had to do was throw another right hand and he put Smith down on the canvas for the second and final time in the fight. It didn’t take great skills or power for Groves to win this fight, as Smith wasn’t ready for the initial right hand that put him down.

After the fight, Groves said “If I run out of opponents I might fight James DeGale again. I don’t want to be known for fighting only one guy. I can’t keep beating that poor man. He’s not on my immediate radar.”

Groves went on to say he could be back by Christmas. David Haye chimed in with his own thoughts, suggesting that Groves will be ready to fight for a world title in six more fights.

Here’s my take: The logical progression from British and Commonwealth straps is to fight for the European title, which is currently held by DeGale. Why wouldn’t Groves want to fight DeGale again when that’s the bigger title and their recent fight last May was a controversial one. Is Groves happy with that outcome? What happens when he gets other controversial decisions in the future? Will be happy those as well? I see it as a ducking move by Groves, a self preservation type move.

I think DeGale beat him last time out and Groves doesn’t want any more of DeGale. The thing is it doesn’t get any easier. Groves can certainly fight six more times in the next year or so and fight for a world title, but do you honestly think he can beat guys like Andre Ward, Mikkel Kessler and Lucian Bute? Nothing changes in a year for Groves. He’ll still be pretty much what he is now – a fighter who does his best work on the back foot. He’s not as fast as Ward, and not as skilled and powerful as Kessler and Bute. All of those guys will destroy Groves, as would Carl Froch. I don’t think Froch will be a champion by then, so he probably won’t be on Groves’ radar but all the same, Froch beats Groves seven days a week, 365 days a year one year from now, two years from now or three years from now.