Groves v Cox: Nielsen v Ryder On The Undercard

by Shaun Brown

Patrick Nielsen (29-1, 14 KOs) will face Britain’s John Ryder (24-4, 12 KOs) in a 10-round attraction on the George Groves-Jamie Cox world title undercard on October 14.

Groves, the WBA Super Middleweight champion, will defend his belt for the first time in a World Boxing Super Series quarter final at Wembley Arena, London.

No official news on the undercard has been released but Boxing Scene has been reliably informed that Nielsen v Ryder, also at super middleweight, will be the first bout filling one of the supporting roles.

Nielsen, 26, is on the reserve list for the super middleweight competition should any of the fighters be unable to participate at any point during the tournament.

A fight against Nielsen will come as something of an unexpected bonus for Ryder whose last three fights have saw him gain one win over Adam Etches but lose to Jack Arnfield and Rocky Fielding respectively.

Ryder has yet to fulfil the potential that so many saw in him in the early days of his career with Matchroom Sports. A narrow loss to Billy Joe Saunders and a stoppage defeat to Nick Blackwell, both at 160lbs, saw the career of ‘The Gorilla’ take a nosedive, particularly after controlling the early stages of the Blackwell fight seemingly on his way to a British title victory.

While the defeats to Arnfield and Fielding were much debated, with many having Ryder the winner on both occasions, there can be no doubt that a fight against Nielsen is be an opportunity that the 29-year-old Londoner would snap up with both hands.

Nielsen’s only defeat as a pro in 30 fights came against Dmitrii Chudinov for the interim WBA Middleweight title three years ago when the Dane dropped a unanimous decision over 12 rounds.