George Groves (boxer) - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

George William Groves is an English

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

professional boxer

Professional Boxing

Professional boxing, or prizefighting, emerged in the early twentieth century as boxing gradually attained legitimacy and became a regulated, sanctioned sport. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse which is divided among the fighters and promoters as determined by contract...

. Currently managed and trained by Adam Booth

Adam Booth

Adam Booth is a British boxing trainer. He is best known as the trainer of English professional boxer, and former WBA World Heavyweight Champion David Haye. Booth's father is a Turkish Cypriot and his training camp is based in Kyrenia, Northern Cyprus...

and promoted by Frank Warren

Frank Warren (promoter)

Frank Darren Warren is an English boxing manager and promoter.-Early life and early career:The son of a bookmaker, Warren trained as a solicitor's clerk with J Tickle & Co on Southampton Row in London....

, he is a former amateur

Amateur boxing

Amateur boxing is practised at the collegiate level, at the Olympic Games and Commonwealth Games, and in many other venues sponsored by amateur boxing associations. Amateur boxing bouts are short in duration and fighters wear head protection, so this type of competition prizes point-scoring rather...

champion and the reigning British

Lonsdale belt

The Lonsdale Belt was a boxing prize introduced by Hugh Lowther, 5th Earl of Lonsdale, to be awarded to British boxing champions. It is still awarded to British champions today.-National Sporting Club:...

and Commonwealth super middleweight

Super middleweight

Super Middleweight is a boxing and Muay Thai weight division that has a weight limit of 168 pounds .- 1960s–1983 :There was interest in a division between Middleweight and Light Heavyweight in the late 1960s, the mid-1970s, and the early 1980s...

titleholder.

Amateur career

George Groves generally fought in the 75 kg category as an amateur and won the Senior ABA championship for his weight in 2006 and 2007. He also fought in championships around the world and won medals in places such as Russia, Estonia, Bosnia, Morocco and the United States. In 2006, he defeated future Olympic champion James DeGale

James DeGale

He is European super middleweight championJames Frederick DeGale MBE is an English boxer and Olympic gold medalist. He was born in Harlesden, London. He started amateur boxing at the Trojan club at the age of 10 before moving to Dale Youth boxing club...

and in total compiled an amateur record of 66 wins out of 76 fights with 40 stoppage victories.

Professional career

Groves turned professional and joined the Hayemaker Promotions

Hayemaker Promotions

Hayemaker Promotions is a promotional company operated by former WBA heavyweight and undisputed cruiserweight champion David Haye and boxing manager Adam Booth...

stable. His first fight as a professional took place in November 2008 at The O2 Arena

The O2 arena (London)

The O2 Arena is a multi-purpose indoor arena located in the centre of The O2, a large entertainment complex on the Greenwich peninsula in London, England.With a capacity of up to 20,000 depending on the event, it is second largest...

, on the undercard of David Haye

David Haye

David Deron Haye is a retired English professional boxer,Haye is the former WBA heavyweight champion. He is also the former unified world cruiserweight champion, holding the WBA, WBC, WBO, and The Ring cruiserweight titles, and also the former European cruiserweight champion.- Amateur :Haye...

's win over Monte Barrett

Monte Barrett

Monte Barrett is an American professional heavyweight boxer. He was regarded by many as a tough gatekeeper and was a former WBC Continental Americas Heavyweight Champion and current WBO Asia Pacific Heavyweight and WBO Oriental Heavyweight champion...

with a six round win over Lithuania

Lithuania

Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...

n, Kirill Pshonko. His next outing in February 2009, saw him score a third round stoppage over Frenchman

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

, Romaric Hignard in a fight at the York Hall

York Hall

The York Hall is a health and leisure centre and one of Britain's best known boxing venues.The venue is situated on Old Ford Road in Bethnal Green, London, England. The hall, opened in 1929 with a capacity of 1,200, stages boxing as well as providing a gymnasium and swimming pool.The hall is owned...

in Bethnal Green

Bethnal Green

Bethnal Green is a district of the East End of London, England and part of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, with the far northern parts falling within the London Borough of Hackney. Located northeast of Charing Cross, it was historically an agrarian hamlet in the ancient parish of Stepney,...

. He followed the victory up in March defeating Paul Samuels at the Echo Arena in Liverpool

Liverpool

Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...

and in April travelled to Belfast

Belfast

Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...

to dispose of the Hungarian

Hungary

Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...

, Sandor Polgar.

In September 2009, following the collapse of Hayemaker

Hayemaker Promotions

Hayemaker Promotions is a promotional company operated by former WBA heavyweight and undisputed cruiserweight champion David Haye and boxing manager Adam Booth...

's television deal with Setanta Sports

Setanta Sports

Setanta Sports is an international sports broadcaster based in Dublin, Ireland. Setanta Sports was formed in 1990 to facilitate the broadcasting of Irish sporting events...

, Groves along with Olympian bronze medal winner David Price

David Price (boxer)

David Price is a professional British heavyweight boxer from Liverpool.-Amateur career:The 6 ' 8 Price boxed out of Salisbury ABC and in 2003 became the youngest ever A.B.A champion in the Super-Heavyweight division, he was 19 years and 272 days old...

signed a promotional deal with veteran boxing promoter Frank Maloney

Frank Maloney

Frank Maloney is a boxing manager and promoter and United Kingdom Independence Party politician. He is most famous for managing Lennox Lewis to the Undisputed Heavyweight Championship of the World.-Early life:...

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

Adam Booth

. On 7 November 2009, following two more professional outings, Groves travelled to Germany and fought on the undercard of stablemate David Haye

David Haye

's WBA

World Boxing Association

The World Boxing Association is a boxing organization that sanctions official matches, and awards the WBA world championship title at the professional level. It was previously known as the National Boxing Association before changing its name in 1962...

title win against Nikolai Valuev

Nikolai Valuev

Nikolai Sergeyevich Valuev or Valuyev is a retired professional boxer and former two-time WBA heavyweight champion. In his most recent fight , he lost the title to David Haye via 12-round majority decision...

, defeating experienced Belarus

Belarus

Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...

sian, Konstantin Makhankov in his first fight over eight rounds.

British and Commonwealth champion

Groves first title shot came on 3 April 2010, when on the undercard of stablemate David Haye's

David Haye

first title defence against John Ruiz

John Ruiz

John "The Quietman" Ruiz , is a former American professional boxer. Ruiz is the first Latino heavyweight champion and former two-time WBA heavyweight champion. After a professional career spanning over 18 years, Ruiz officially announced his retirement from the sport at a press conference on April...

at the MEN Arena in Manchester

Manchester

Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...

, Groves, in only his ninth fight, defeated Charles Adamu

Charles Adamu

Charles Adamu is a Ghanain professional boxer fighting in the super middleweight division. As an amateur he represented Ghana in the 1998 Kuala Lumpur Commonwealth Games winning a bronze medal and in the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games reaching the second round...

of Ghana

Ghana

Ghana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...

with a 6th round technical knock out to win the Commonwealth title. Groves had dominated the fight, knocking Adamu down once in the first and twice in the fourth before the referee stepped in with 9 seconds of round six to hand the fight to Groves. Groves followed up the win by traveling to Las Vegas

Las Vegas metropolitan area

The Las Vegas Valley is the heart of the Las Vegas-Paradise, NV MSA also known as the Las Vegas–Paradise–Henderson MSA which includes all of Clark County, Nevada, and is a metropolitan area in the southern part of the U.S. state of Nevada. The Valley is defined by the Las Vegas Valley landform, a ...

to gain some big fight experience and to fight on the undercard of the Juan Manuel Marquez

Juan Manuel Márquez

Juan Manuel Márquez Méndez , is a Mexican professional boxer. He is the fourth Mexican-born boxer to become a three-division world champion, where he won eight world titles in three different boxing weight classes.Currently, Marquez is the WBA Super, WBO and The Ring lightweight champion...

vs. Juan Diaz world title fight on 31 July 2010. Groves opponent, the Mexican Alfredo Contreras, had a solid record of 11 wins against 7 losses going into the fight but represented a higher level of international journeyman than those Groves had already beaten. The fight was stopped in the 6th round with Groves declared the winner after the referee decided that Groves was getting through too much and so chose to call off the fight. 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

Audley Harrison

Audley Harrison is a British professional boxer from Harlesden, England who fights in the heavyweight division. At the 2000 Olympics in Sydney he became the first British fighter to win an Olympic gold medal in the superheavyweight division. He stands and usually weighs around .Harrison turned...

at the MEN Arena, resulted in a career first knockdown for Groves as he endured his toughest fight to date. On 5 March 2011 Groves defeated Ghanain boxer Daniel Adotey Allotey at the Huddersfield Leisure Centre, winning by stoppage in the 4th round of what was an 8 round non-title fight. Following the bout Groves said that the fight had been preparation for a potential future clash with British champion James DeGale

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." On 21 May 2011 at the O2 Arena in London, Groves and Degale met in a Commonwealth and British Super Middleweight title fight. Groves was declared the winner by majority decision after 12 closely fought rounds. Two judges scored the fight 115-114 in favour of Groves with another scoring the fight level at 115-115.

Changing promoter

A rematch between Degale and Groves became a possibility when Frank Warren

Frank Warren

Frank Warren may refer to:* Frank Warren , played for the New Orleans Saints* Frank Warren , English boxing manager and promoter* Francis E. Warren , American politician, U.S...

, 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". 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. In his first fight with Warren on 5 November 2011, Groves beat former British champion Paul Smith in just two rounds at the Wembley Arena in London to retain his British and Commonwealth titles.

Professional boxing record

England James DeGale

James DeGale

Ghana Charles Adamu

Charles Adamu

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