George Groves announces retirement

Former super middleweight titlist, George Groves has announced his retirement, according to Dan Rafael of espn.com.

“After taking a little time to reflect on the recent events in my career, I have decided that it is time for me to retire as a professional fighter,” Groves said in a statement.

“In 2017, I boxed in front of a home crowd in Sheffield and became the WBA super middleweight world champion,” Groves said. “After four attempts I had finally fulfilled my childhood dream, and the experience was as great as I had always imagined it would be. It was without doubt the best moment of my career.

“Some of you may think it’s odd that I’m choosing this time to retire. I’m still young, still fit and healthy, and there are still some big fights out there for me. But it’s for these reasons that I am choosing to retire now. I have a young family at home; it’s time to spend some of my better days with them. I don’t want there to be a time where I’m ‘too old’ to box on, or where an injury retires me in or out of the ring. Over the years I have seen and sadly known the dangers of the sport, and I want to respectfully bow out while I’m at the top of my game.

“I’ve learned that doesn’t always mean coming off the back of a win. I’ve boxed at the highest level, all over the world, I’ve been a champion and I’ll be leaving the sport (relatively!) intact.”

“Boxing has been good to me and I believe I have been good for boxing,” Groves said. “I hope I have entertained you all; I have always strived to be the best fighter I can be. Although we step through the ropes on our own, of course every fighter is backed by a team, and not just the ones in the corner. There are many, many people that have helped me on the way to fulfilling my boxing dreams and I would like to take this opportunity to thank as many people as I can.”