George Groves

Bio

George “Saint George” Groves is a retired British super-middleweight who won the WBA world title at the fourth attempt and then won the Ali Trophy, and who is now one of the sharpest analysts working in British boxing.

The four attempts are the story. Twice against Carl Froch, once against Badou Jack, and each time he came up short in a fight he was more than good enough to win. Most fighters do not survive that. Groves came back a fourth time, beat Fedor Chudinov in Sheffield in 2017, and finally got the belt.

He then won the World Boxing Super Series at super-middleweight, beating Chris Eubank Jr in the semi-final with a dislocated shoulder, before losing the final to Callum Smith and retiring at 30. He went out on his own terms with the trophy and the title in the cabinet, and he has never once looked like coming back.

As a pundit he is unusually honest. His recent verdict on Moses Itauma — “at the moment he’s a three-round fighter” — is the kind of thing most analysts dress up for twenty minutes rather than just say. If you know, you know: Groves earned the right to be blunt the hard way.