When it comes to the great British rivalries in boxing, there were few that compared to Carl Froch and George Groves.
Froch and Groves would meet in a pair of world super middleweight title bouts in 2013 and 2014. However, the British pair had plenty of verbal sparring occasions before they even stepped in the ring.
The two boxers had a clear dislike towards one another, however, since their fight series, Froch has said that the two are now ‘great friends’.
However, the same could not be said for the men in the lead-up to their fight.
Carl Froch and George Groves had an intense rivalry during their careers
There were numerous fiery occasions between Froch and Groves in the lead-up to both of their highly anticipated bouts.
From tense interviews to physical altercations, the build-up for the fight was an extremely entertaining one for fight fans.
In an interview with Sky Sports, Froch told the interviewer that “George Groves is getting knocked out,” ahead of their first meeting. Then, Groves rebutted by saying that he would earn a stoppage over Froch.
As Froch laughed off the comment, Groves began to target his opponent. “Are you going to cry? Don’t cry. I can hear your voice breaking… He’s going to cry!”
Groves would go on to say that Eddie Hearn, who was sitting beside Froch, couldn’t save his opponent within a barrage of comments.
Froch would then claim Groves was undeserving of the title opportunity, a comment that was not taken lightly by the title challenger, who began listing his rankings under various boxing organizations.
Other notable incidents from their build-up include Froch shoving Groves at Wembley Stadium, in footage captured by IFL TV.
The two also had a tense 25-minute face-off for Sky Sports, as the two began pulling at one another in an unfriendly handshake at the end of the meeting.
Essentially, for the build-up in both of their fights, both Froch and Groves would take any opportunity they could to show their disdain for the other.
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Both fights between Carl Froch and George Groves would end in stoppages
When the pair met for the first time in November 2013, Froch’s IBF and WBA World Super Middleweight titles were on the line.
Froch went into the bout with a record of 31-2, while Groves was undefeated at 19-0. However, being 11 years his senior, Froch was able to defeat Groves.
The fight would get off to an electric start, as Froch was put down for just the second time in his career in the very first round. Despite still looking shaken in the second round, Froch was able to recover well.
In the ninth round, the bout would be over. However, not without controversy. Froch would put significant pressure on his opponent, as he needed to turn the fight around.
Groves was seemingly hurt in the ninth, and following volume from Froch, the fight was waved off by the referee. However, Groves was clearly very unhappy with the stoppage, and a rematch was made.
Six months later, in May 2014, the British rivals would meet for a second time, with a more decisive ending.
A huge, right-handed shot from Froch would put Groves down in the eighth round, with the referee almost immediately waving off the bout.
The sequel bout with Groves would be Froch’s final outing of his career. However, Froch revealed he did receive an offer to fight a former UFC star after the bout.
As for Groves, he would retire in 2018. The final win of his career would see Groves defeat Chris Eubank Jr.