George Groves Announces Retirement

[p4pking]

Froch amazingly still manages to make himself seem like even more of a knob than many people already thought he was


"Will I miss him? Probably not," Froch wrote in a column for Sky Sports. "But I can't deny that Groves made a massive, positive impact on the end of my career. Between us we filled Wembley and raised the bar for the next generation, led by Anthony Joshua of course, to box there, regularly.
"Groves certainly played his part in all that. A big part. He will be remembered for all those mind games and smart words he came out with, but I have to be honest, I never found him funny or clever.
"What I will say about him though is well done for becoming a world champion. Even if I was not his biggest fan, I was glad to stand up applauded his win over Fedor Chudinov at Bramall Lane."



Bit harsh? Quite possibly. Regardless, Froch has praised Groves for recognising the right time to retire.
He added: "But I won't miss him and I am not sure that British boxing will miss him, these days at least. There was nothing left out there for him.
"He lost to Callum Smith, who is now top of the super-middleweight world and it wasn't like it was a close or controversial defeat, he was conclusively beaten and there was never going to be a rematch.
"Groves helped me finish my own career in the best way possible, so now it's his turn to call it a day. Fair play to him."


https://www.givemesport.com/1447915-...ng?autoplay=on

Don't expect anything less from that weapons grade bellend. He has no class and no self-awareness. "He will be remembered for all those mind games and smart words he came out with".

I'll remember Groves for several things, but above all else for one of the most enjoyable few minutes of boxing culminating in him sticking Froch on his fucking arse exactly as he said he would. That moment was a massive fucking buzz.

Nobody disliked Froch as much as me, and I’m with you all the way on this. But we all know Froch is a smug fucker, and what he’s saying is distasteful , but he’s saying what he thinks and at least he’s not being fake.
I thought the night Groves won the World title, that this was all being put to sleep. But Froch can’t help himself.
To be fair to him, he’s never denied that Groves was a big big part in his successful career.
Wembley was all down to Groves.
Yeah, Froch is classless , but he says what he thinks. The only thing I can take issue with from all that , is him saying British Boxing won’t miss Groves. Who does he think he is! He’s not the voice of fucking Boxing. British Boxing will look back in time with more affection for Groves than they will for Froch. And Froch knows that.
Fuck me, if only Groves won the first fight!

Why will british boxing have have more affection for Groves? Really asking, since he didn’t have nearly the career that froch did.. just more likeable and all?

[Fenster]

I always liked Groves style and he learnt everything from Booth/Haye about conducting himself outside the ring, however, although a very popular British fighter he never crossed over to the mainstream. He's not going to roll off the tongue with Calzaghe, Benn, Eubank and Froch when discussions of all-time great supermiddles come up.

Probably make a good pundit.

[Primo Carnera]

I always liked Groves style and he learnt everything from Booth/Haye about conducting himself outside the ring, however, although a very popular British fighter he never crossed over to the mainstream. He's not going to roll off the tongue with Calzaghe, Benn, Eubank and Froch when discussions of all-time great supermiddles come up.

Probably make a good pundit.

Agree with all of that , and Froch will get more kudos than Groves as a Boxer over his whole career obviously.EXCEPT that I don't think Froch comes into that group above either. Yes he had titles, yes he regained a title , but he was always second fiddle to Ward, and his fight with Ward exposed his limitations.
regarding crossing over to the mainstream, you're right , but he was closer to that than Froch despite Froch being on Dancing on Ice or whatever it was. Groves drew bigger crowds, and more neutrals just because of his character.
Wembley would never have happened if it wasn't for Groves, and Froch virtually admits that.

Answering a previous post because I can't be bothered to do 2 replies , so this isn't aimed at your post, Groves will be remembered with more affection than Froch simply because he was more liked than Froch.

[ryanman]

I saw a guy at the gym the other day wearing a Froch-Groves II t-shirt. Just so you know .

I feel that fight was the tipping point with British boxing. From then on things changed and being well known within boxing circles/fans translated to being fairly well known in a general sense too.
Before that you had to 'transcend' the sport in Britain to be known to the average man/woman on the street and only a handful did that.
After that, you could be well known to the general sporting public without having to 'transcend' the sport.
The sport itself became big enough that having a high-profile within British boxing circles became enough to have some general recognition in the wider public too.

[smashup]

Ward has rightly just made Froch look a fool on twitter....

https://talksport.com/sport/boxing/4...es-retirement/

[Master]

George Groves was the most idiosyncratic of world champions and will be missed in retirement... you suspect deep down Carl Froch will miss him, too

George Groves was in forgiving mood on the first official day of his retirement.

Saint by nickname and Saint by nature, Groves smiled back on his arch rivalries with Carl Froch and James DeGale.

Thirty is an early age to mellow but even Froch's little jibe about how he and boxing would not miss him failed to provoke even a hint of angst in Groves.

Mild irony was as spicy as it got, Groves thanking US legend Andre Ward for 'coming to my defence' on Twitter.

'Froch is an intelligent man,' he added. 'He apologised after taking a lot of stick for saying that. But he knows he was the one who beat me twice, second time with that spectacular knock out in front of 80,000 at Wembley, and walked away with the world championship belts.

'And, yes, he was the best boxer I fought.' So, better than Callum Smith who relieved him of the WBA world title, with which he had gone on to crown his career, in what has turned out to be his last fight?

Yes, partly because Groves knew even before they made that trek into the Saudi Arabian desert last September that the World Series tournament final would be his last fight.

The Saint's fighting heart was no longer fully in it, nor his partially repaired shoulder although he refused to blame the injury for that final stoppage.

'Callum was the better man and deserved to win, ' he said. 'All credit to him for beating me when I really wanted to go out in glory with victory and as world champion.'*

Not until this week did Groves make it official but now he reveals: 'I was always going to retire after that fight, win, lose or draw.'*
A number of factors played into that decision. Not least the brain injury sustained by Edouard Gutknecht in the fight before Groves best Fedor Chudinov to win his WBA super middleweight title.

'The desire was gone after that,' he says. 'After that I only took the few nights necessary to fulfill my ambitions and make my money - before stepping down to spend some of my better years with my wife and two sons as a young man still relatively undamaged.'*

Froch better, too, than DeGale? Yes again. Not only because he beat him but because Groves acknowledges Chunky's Olympic gold talent.
'He's very good,' says Groves. 'Even though he's such a nightmare to deal with that when I thought we had once come to terms for a fight when we bumped into each other at Westfield he wrecked it by trying to change it all next day.'*

That rematch will never happen now, even though there had been speculation Groves would grant the chance of revenge if DeGale wins his upcoming fight against Chris Eubank Jr.

A little more gentle irony from the Saint as he says: 'I will never come back now even though we could both make a lot more money. I don't need it and it makes me smile that he won't be getting it either before he retires.

'But there will be no problem when I bump into him and Froch at ringsides in the future.'*

So what will George do next? 'I want to see if I can be great at something else,' he says. 'Maybe I can be as good at managing young boxers as I was at managing my own career.

He is also branching out into broadcast commentary and motivational speaking.

He says: 'I want to stay around boxing. But the only thing I will miss about being a fighter is the camaraderie in the gym.'*

As for boxing and those of us who charted his noble career, we will miss one of the most idiosyncratic of world champions.
And I suspect that deep down Carl Froch will miss him, too.

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/sport/boxi...cid=spartanntp

[Master]

George Groves is relishing the thought of walking into retirement after denying his rival James DeGale a payday that could leave him “demoralised and flattened”.

The 30-year-old former WBA super-middleweight champion announced his retirement on Monday.

Groves had long been expected to fight DeGale, who he outpointed in 2011, in a lucrative rematch should his rival defeat Chris Eubank Jnr next month.

He will instead experiment in motivational speaking, move on to managing fighters through London’s Wasserman agency, and work as a ringside analyst for ITV for what could therefore prove DeGale’s final fight.

Groves was stopped by Callum Smith in September having fought his way to the final of the World Boxing Super Series in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, surrendering the world title he so memorably won at the fourth attempt, having also headlined in front of a near-80,000-strong crowd at Wembley.

Carl Froch, who he lost to that night, remains critical of him but it is DeGale who has been Groves’ long-term rival, and he said: “He has taken the Eubank fight thinking he can fight me next and he can’t, that ship has sailed.

“I’m happy to miss out on the payday, as long as he loses it as well.

“Ideally this flattens him and demoralises him for a couple of weeks, if that was his agenda. James is thick-skinned and has been through as much or more as me. But he’s totally deluded and that helps.

“He still has a job to do and it depends how seriously he takes Eubank Jnr. If he is not focused then he might fall off the rails.”

Groves, who on the whole impressively pursued his career without the guidance of a major promoter, described himself as “fat and out of shape”, but it is the deeper scar of his fight with Eduard Gutknecht, left disabled, that influenced him more than that or his previously dislocated shoulder ever could.

“After that fight I knew my days were numbered and I was going to stay in the sport for as long as was necessary,” he said, amid plans to spend more time with wife Sophie and sons Teddy and Albie. “Straight after that I got the Fedor Chudinov (world-title) fight.

“I ticked one box which was to win a world title and the next was to leave the sport with some money. I signed for the tournament and earned good money and that was enough for me.

“I’ve achieved what I set out to achieve and I’m ready to call it a day. I was in great, great condition for the Eubank fight, nowhere near as good condition for the Smith fight and I’m not sure how long it would take to get back into the shape I was in for the Eubank fight. I don’t need it, or particularly want it that much.

“Boxing became harder and harder, maybe (through) motivation and balancing my home and gym life. It ran its course.

“I’m not coming out of retirement. Not until 2025 when I’ll come back at heavyweight!”

https://uk.sports.yahoo.com/news/ret...223044192.html

[X]

Good fighter, trained hard and maximised his talent.

An articulate guy, who was brilliant at getting under his opponents' skin. The psychology job he did on Froch and de Gale was superb textbook stuff. He also totally outclassed the much hyped Eubank Jnr.

Very good jab, solid solid right hand. Good chin until he somehow always gassed out early. Not sure why.

What happened with poor Gutnecht was terrible and it must have affected him deeply.

Well done on a great career, George, and all the best for retirement.

[yance24]

George Groves has announced his retirement

Great boxer.............

[Primo Carnera]

George Groves has announced his retirement

Great boxer.............

Bit harsh banning him for the above comment??

[Master]

George Groves has announced his retirement

Great boxer.............

Bit harsh banning him for the above comment??

I thought it was PK.

[ryanman]

Froch amazingly still manages to make himself seem like even more of a knob than many people already thought he was


"Will I miss him? Probably not," Froch wrote in a column for Sky Sports. "But I can't deny that Groves made a massive, positive impact on the end of my career. Between us we filled Wembley and raised the bar for the next generation, led by Anthony Joshua of course, to box there, regularly.
"Groves certainly played his part in all that. A big part. He will be remembered for all those mind games and smart words he came out with, but I have to be honest, I never found him funny or clever.
"What I will say about him though is well done for becoming a world champion. Even if I was not his biggest fan, I was glad to stand up applauded his win over Fedor Chudinov at Bramall Lane."



Bit harsh? Quite possibly. Regardless, Froch has praised Groves for recognising the right time to retire.
He added: "But I won't miss him and I am not sure that British boxing will miss him, these days at least. There was nothing left out there for him.
"He lost to Callum Smith, who is now top of the super-middleweight world and it wasn't like it was a close or controversial defeat, he was conclusively beaten and there was never going to be a rematch.
"Groves helped me finish my own career in the best way possible, so now it's his turn to call it a day. Fair play to him."


https://www.givemesport.com/1447915-...ng?autoplay=on

Don't expect anything less from that weapons grade bellend. He has no class and no self-awareness. "He will be remembered for all those mind games and smart words he came out with".

I'll remember Groves for several things, but above all else for one of the most enjoyable few minutes of boxing culminating in him sticking Froch on his fucking arse exactly as he said he would. That moment was a massive fucking buzz.

Nobody disliked Froch as much as me, and I’m with you all the way on this. But we all know Froch is a smug fucker, and what he’s saying is distasteful , but he’s saying what he thinks and at least he’s not being fake.
I thought the night Groves won the World title, that this was all being put to sleep. But Froch can’t help himself.
To be fair to him, he’s never denied that Groves was a big big part in his successful career.
Wembley was all down to Groves.
Yeah, Froch is classless , but he says what he thinks. The only thing I can take issue with from all that , is him saying British Boxing won’t miss Groves. Who does he think he is! He’s not the voice of fucking Boxing. British Boxing will look back in time with more affection for Groves than they will for Froch. And Froch knows that.
Fuck me, if only Groves won the first fight!

Why will british boxing have have more affection for Groves? Really asking, since he didn’t have nearly the career that froch did.. just more likeable and all?

Yeah, because most people (rightly) think Froch is a smug, arrogant, needy prick. Have to respect Froch as a fighter but he is pretty unlikable.