George Groves: Nothing Left To Prove

George Groves: Nothing Left To Prove

George Groves as a result of the bitter defeat he suffered at the fists of Callum Smith, now faces a difficult decision in the coming weeks about his boxing future. In the unlikely setting of Jeddah on Friday night, Groves conceded his hard-earned WBA super middleweight title to the new kid on the block. Smith is the latest in a long line of British super middleweight world champions and his performance against Groves suggests he could rival the elite on that list.

It would be a hard man not to feel sympathy for Groves, who was full of class inside the ring, keeping the fight close, even though his defeat always seemed inevitable from very early on. The job and Smith always seemed to be too big for him. The little shake of the head Groves gave when he was on the floor in the 7th, told us the fight was over, the official decision to call it off a mere formality.

The manner of the acceptance of defeat was refreshing, especially considering what came before with the Chris Eubank Jr fight which proceeded the main event:

“It was not meant to be, he got the decisive shots and he fought well. He was the better man on the night, full credit to him. I’m going to have a good rest, I’m not retiring but it has been a dogged year.”

Groves is a fighter I didn’t initially warm to, his antics before the James DeGale and Carl Froch fights were not to my taste, although they undoubtedly served their purpose. I thought he was a shade unlucky not to get the decision over Badou Jack and when he got his 4th and surely his last world title shot against Fedor Chudinov in May last year it looked for long periods that he would be the nearly man yet again.

But the way Groves spat out his, I won’t be denied again defiance, even his bitter rival Froch had to stand and applaud in appreciation and admiration for his efforts in finally winning the world title.

Despite his best efforts, Groves always seemed destined to come up short against Smith and despite his protests he must know retirement must now be considered. Groves has the connections and the name to be again manoeuvred for another world title shot, and you wouldn’t totally rule out another famous night, but does Groves really have the motivation to go through it all again, I have my doubts.

Groves in the last few days seemed unusually tired, not just because of making weight, but probably because of all the miles on the clock and all the hours of rehabilitation he has had to endure to just be in the ring against Smith. Groves didn’t perform like a shot fighter in Jeddah, far from it, but the decline has started to set in, retire or not the end isn’t far away.

I hope Groves seriously considers retirement, he has nothing left to prove. So many fighters leave the sport on a sad note, leaving us with a performance that is a million miles away from their peak. Groves, if that was the last time we see him fight, it was anything but sad, and I would rather Groves exit the sport like that and not at the hands of a boxer with far less talent than Smith, which if he does decide to carry on, is a fate which surely awaits him.