George Groves says he will take a long rest from boxing after being knocked out in the seventh round of Friday night’s WBA super-middleweight title fight against Callum Smith. Liverpudlian Smith, who dethroned Groves in a fiery battle in Saudi Arabia, also takes home the Muhammad Ali Trophy for winning the Super Series final, and becomes just the third man to claim The Ring Magazine super-middleweight belt. Groves required surgery on a dislocated shoulder and had not fought since February, with some suggestions that he might consider hanging up his gloves, and he will now take a step back after Friday’s defeat.
Asked about his future plans, he told ITV: ‘I’m going to have a long rest because it’s been a dogged year
‘I won the world title just over a year ago, but I want to go home because I miss my wife and kids.
On his shoulder injury, he added: ‘I’m not going to make excuses. The shoulder worked and Callum was the better man on the night. ‘That’s tough for me to say but I have to be honest.
‘It was not meant to be. Full credit to Callum. Boxed-well, heavy-handed. ‘He got me with a body shot at the end, which is embarrassing for me, because I’ve never been dropped with a body shot in my life, but he got the decisive shot in the end.’
No comments:
Post a Comment