George Groves (boxer)

George Groves
Groves in 2011
Statistics
Nickname(s)	Saint
Rated at	Super-middleweight
Height	5 ft 11 ^1⁄2 in (182 cm)
Reach	72 in (183 cm)
Nationality	British
Born	26 March 1988 Hammersmith, West London, England
Stance	Orthodox
Boxing record
Total fights	26
Wins	23
Wins by KO	18
Losses	3

George Groves (born 26 March 1988) is a British professional boxer. Nicknamed "Saint" George, he is a former European, British and Commonwealth super-middleweight champion, as well as a three-time world title challenger. As an amateur, he is a two-time former English middleweight champion.

Amateur career

Groves generally fought in the 75 kilograms (165 lb) division as an amateur and won the Senior ABA championship for his weight in 2006 and 2007.^[1] He also fought in championships around the world and won medals in places such as Russia, Estonia, Bosnia, Morocco and the United States.^[2] In 2006, he defeated future Olympic champion James DeGale and compiled a total amateur record of 66 wins out of 76 fights with 40 stoppage victories.^[3]

Professional career

Groves turned professional on 15 November 2008 and joined the Hayemaker Promotions stable. His first fight as a professional took place in November 2008 at The O2 Arena, on the undercard of David Haye's win over Monte Barrett with a six round win over Kirill Pshonko.^[4] His next outing in February 2009, saw him score a third round stoppage over Romaric Hignard in a fight at the York Hall in Bethnal Green. He followed the victory up in March defeating Paul Samuels at the Echo Arena in Liverpool, and in April travelled to Belfast to dispose of Sandor Polgar.^[5]

In September 2009, following the collapse of Hayemaker's television deal with Setanta Sports, Groves along with Olympic bronze medalist David Price signed a promotional deal with veteran boxing promoter Frank Maloney who described Groves as "one of the world's best prospects". Despite signing for Maloney however, Groves would continue to be managed and trained by Hayemaker's Adam Booth.^[6] On 7 November 2009, following two more professional outings, Groves travelled to Germany and fought on the undercard of stablemate David Haye's WBA title win against Nikolai Valuev, defeating experienced the Konstantin Makhankov in his first fight over eight rounds.^[7]

British and Commonwealth champion

Groves (right) vs. Paul Smith, 2011

Groves' first title opportunity came on 3 April 2010, as part of the undercard of David Haye's first title defence against John Ruiz at the MEN Arena in Manchester. Groves, in only his ninth fight, defeated Charles Adamu via TKO to win the Commonwealth super-middleweight title. Groves had dominated the fight, knocking Adamu down once in the first and twice in the fourth before the referee stepped in with nine seconds remaining in the sixth.^[8] Groves followed up the win by travelling to Las Vegas in order to gain some higher-profile experience and to fight on the undercard of Juan Manuel Marquez vs. Juan Diaz II on 31 July 2010. Groves' opponent, Alfredo Contreras, had a record of eleven wins and seven losses going into the fight, but nonetheless represented a higher level of international journeyman than those Groves had already beaten. The fight was stopped in the sixth round after the referee decided that Contreras was not sufficiently answering back with punches.^[9]

On 13 November 2010, Groves made the first defence of his title beating former Commonwealth Games gold medalist Kenny Anderson in the sixth round. The fight, on the undercard of David Haye's world title clash with Audley Harrison at the MEN Arena, resulted in a career first knockdown for Groves as he endured his toughest fight to date.^[10] On 5 March 2011, Groves defeated Daniel Adotey Allotey at the Huddersfield Leisure Centre, winning by stoppage in the fourth round of what was an eight-round non-title fight. Following the bout Groves said that the fight had been preparation for a potential future clash with British champion and old foe James DeGale, a fight he predicted that he would win. He said "Whether it comes by knockout or points, I don't really care. He knows that I've got his number and he's going to struggle to sleep in the preparation for this fight because he is going to have to be on his brain all the time."^[11] On 21 May 2011 at the O2 Arena in London, Groves and DeGale met in a highly anticipated grudge match for the Commonwealth and British super-middleweight titles. Groves was declared the winner by majority decision after twelve closely fought rounds. Two judges scored the fight 115–114 in favour of Groves, with another scoring the fight even at 115–115.^[12]

Changing promoter

Groves with Adam Booth (centre) and David Haye, 2011

A rematch between DeGale and Groves became a possibility when Frank Warren, DeGale's promoter, announced that he had signed Groves to his stable on a three-year deal. Warren said, "It is an obvious fight that will definitely happen again", adding "The last fight was very close and a few observers felt that it could have gone either way".^[13] Despite leaving the Hayemaker promotional stable, Groves' manager and trainer Adam Booth announced that the decision to join Frank Warren was in the best interests of Groves' career.^[13] In his first fight with Warren on 5 November 2011, Groves beat former British champion Paul Smith in two rounds at the Wembley Arena in London to retain his British and Commonwealth titles.^[14]

Froch vs. Groves

In mid-2013 the IBF installed Groves as the mandatory challenger to titleholder Carl Froch, with a bout between them taking place on 23 November 2013 at the Phones4u Arena in Manchester; both Froch's IBF and WBA super-middleweight titles were on the line.^[15] On 17 September, it was announced that Groves had parted ways with trainer Adam Booth.^[16] In the fight, Froch stopped Groves in the ninth round amidst controversial circumstances. Groves was ahead on all three judges' scorecards, having dropped the champion in the first round with a hard counter right hand. Many observers at ringside, including fellow boxers David Haye and Amir Khan, remarked that referee Howard Foster had stepped in too quickly during an exchange in which both fighters landed heavy punches. Given the controversial nature of the stoppage, there were immediate calls for a rematch.^[17][18]

Froch vs. Groves II

A rematch between Groves and Froch took place on 31 May 2014 at Wembley Stadium.^[19] Froch was quoted that the fight is what the "British public want to see" and that was his reason for taking the option to give Groves a rematch.^[20] As in the first fight, Froch's IBF and WBA super-middleweight titles were on the line. Prior to the fight, Groves signed with German promoters Sauerland, on what has been described as "a long-term deal". Froch knocked out Groves in the eighth round, retaining his IBF and WBA super-middleweight titles.^[21]

Third world title attempt

On 12 September 2015, as part of the undercard to Floyd Mayweather, Jr. vs. Andre Berto, Groves faced reigning WBC super-middleweight champion Badou Jack. It was Groves' third fight in the US, as well as his third chance at a world title. Going into the fight, old foe James DeGale had voiced his support for Groves, as he himself had become IBF champion four months prior, and was looking forward to a potential rematch with world titles at stake. In the opening round, Jack scored a knockdown against Groves, but the latter was able to recover and rally back in what would become a competitive fight. At the end, the scorecards were split with 115–112 and 116–111 for Jack, and 114–113 for Groves.^[22]

Professional boxing record

Titles in boxing

References

1. List of ABA champions 2000's. ABAE. Retrieved on 25 November 2013.
2. ABAE | George Groves
3. London middleweight George Groves will be watching the action from Beijing with a heavy heart, writes Tris Dixon. Boxing News. 8 August 2008
4. Chaudry, Ziad (19 November 2008) George revelling in joy of six. Kilburn Times
5. Groves destroys Polgar. Boxingnews24 (26 April 2009). Retrieved on 25 November 2013.
6. Groves signs with Maloney. Eastside Boxing. Retrieved on 25 November 2013.
7. St. George does the business. The Sun (7 November 2009). Retrieved on 25 November 2013.
8. Groves takes super middleweight title. The Telegraph. Retrieved on 25 November 2013.
9. Groves marks american debut with win in Las Vegas. Sky Sports (1 August 2010). Retrieved on 25 November 2013.
10. Groves survives Anderson war. Sky Sports (17 November 2010). Retrieved on 25 November 2013.
11. Groves glides past Ghanain. Sky Sports (4 May 2011). Retrieved on 25 November 2013.
12. Hassan, Nabil. (21 May 2011) BBC Sport | George Groves stuns James DeGale to win British title. BBC News. Retrieved on 25 November 2013.
13. "George Groves and James DeGale set for rematch – Frank Warren". BBC Sport. BBC. 25 August 2011. Retrieved 2012-10-18.
14. BBC Sport | George Groves stuns Paul Smith to retain titles. BBC News (5 November 2011). Retrieved on 25 November 2013.
15. BBC Sport – Carl Froch to defend titles against George Groves. Bbc.co.uk (23 July 2013). Retrieved on 25 November 2013.
16. Dooley, Terence (17 September 2013). "George Groves, Adam Booth Have Decided To Part Ways". BoxingScene. Retrieved 17 September 2013.
17. Carl Froch retains titles with controversial stoppage win over George Groves. Sky Sports. Retrieved on 25 November 2013.
18. Carl Froch stops George Groves in ninth round with premature stoppage – Jeff Powell | Mail Online. Dailymail.co.uk. Retrieved on 25 November 2013.
19. Dirs, Ben (2014-03-04). "Carl Froch v George Groves: Wembley Stadium to host rematch". BBC Sport. BBC. Retrieved 2014-03-04.
20. "Carl Froch vs George Groves - The Rematch". What's Good?. 30 May 2014. Retrieved 30 May 2014.
21. Dirs, Ben (2014-05-31). "Carl Froch knocks out George Groves to retain world titles". BBC Sport. BBC. Retrieved 2014-06-01.
22. Dielhenn, James (13 September 2015). "George Groves loses split decision to Badou Jack for WBC super-middleweight title". Sky Sports. Sky. Retrieved 16 September 2015.

External links

• Professional boxing record for George Groves from BoxRec