Tuesday 14 July 2015 16:44, UK
George Groves said he doesn’t need Carl Froch as a friend after The Cobra announced his retirement from professional boxing.
Froch, who will join Sky Sports as a boxing pundit, believes that his bouts against Groves, and the fall-out from both fights, will be a major part of his legacy.
Groves similarly admits their battles will be widely remembered but says he is in no rush to build bridges with Froch as he moves from the ring to the commentary box.
"We don’t need to be friends – I’ve got friends," Groves told Sky Sports News HQ. "There’s a rivalry when you’re going to box and now that he’s no longer a fighter that rivalry isn’t there.
"Rivalries are healthy in boxing, it promotes fighters to become better fighters.
"It was pretty obvious that he wasn’t going to box on after my fight. He hasn’t been involved in boxing since then so I sort of knew that his retirement was coming. It’s one of those things."
Groves could not resist a tongue-in-cheek swipe at his old rival's continued references to their sell-out Wembley showdown but was nonetheless ready to concede Froch had made an impact on British boxing.
"I think he’ll be remembered for a few things: one was for the controversy in our first fight where some people feel it was the wrong decision, obviously him beating me at Wembley, and finally him explaining it to Floyd Mayweather.
"Once you’ve explained it to Floyd Mayweather I don’t think there’s much else that you need to do in a boxing career and that’s the time to retire.
He’s always entertaining for the casual fan because he’s happy to take a punch to land a punch.
"He’s a tough man to beat. Sometimes you think you’ve got him and a bit of controversy gets in the way and sometimes you’re boxing really well, you’re in full control, and then one punch and it can change a fight.
"There’s been plenty of fights of Carl Froch’s that I’ve watched and thought 'he’s losing this' or 'he’s not going to get the win' and he ends up getting the win.
"He’s got a knack for winning, that in itself is something to respect and I think there have been some great wars, some great fights to watch. He’s always entertaining for the casual fan because he’s happy to take a punch to land a punch."
Groves is preparing to fight WBC world super-middleweight champion Badou Jack in Las Vegas in August, and says he is enjoying being able to train without the attention his matches with Froch attracted.
"I’m excited to be fighting for a world title without the rivalry as such, without the media spotlight asking what he said, she said. I’m excited to be fighting for a world title without the rest of the business coming with it.
"Obviously I’ve got plenty of big fights out there and there’s a big fight for me coming up really soon and I’m going for the WBC world title."
