A former world champion boxer has criticised UK promoters and broadcasters for failing to support up-and-coming talent.
George Groves, who held the WBA super-middleweight title from 2017 to 2018, said the current state of British boxing simply isn’t exciting because of the lack of new talent being platformed.
Talking as a representative for betting firm Betselect.co.uk, George Groves, from Hammersmith, said: “Since the heavyweight era came in with Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury, UK promoters and broadcasters really have neglected bringing in really good home talent – it’s left a bit of a vacuum.”
Groves was less than impressed with both Joshua and Fury’s performances over the weekend.
Both heavyweight champions competed in separate fights ahead of their long-awaited meeting in the ring marked for later this year with an official date and location are yet to be officially announced.
Fury beat 46-year-old Mariusz Wach in Thailand on Friday before Joshua recovered from two knockdowns to beat Kristian Prenga in two rounds in Saudi Arabia.
Groves said: “Joshua’s performance against Kristian Prenga was worrying. It was a strange one.”
He also compared Fury’s fight against Polish veteran Mariusz Wach to watching two old men having a scrap.
Groves added: “Influential people in boxing, like promoter Eddie Hearn, will tell you Joshua vs Furry will be the biggest fight in boxing history. Meanwhile the rest of us are left scratching our heads thinking the two of them shouldn’t even be boxing anymore.”
The former professional boxer believes fresh British talent is there – including Commonwealth heavyweight title holder Moses Ituama and Conor Benn, son of former two-division world champion boxer Nigel Benn.
He said it’s down to broadcasters to make the effort to give them the leg up they need.
Earlier this year the broadcaster Sky Sports struck a landmark deal with promotional company Zuffa Boxing, founded by Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) CEO Dana White, to become the exclusive UK and Irish home for all Zuffa boxing events.
For Groves this is a step in the right direction, but these changes won’t be felt overnight.
Groves said: “This deal with Sky Sports and Zuffa Boxing could be really exciting, but it’s going to take some time for Zuffa to find its feet. Dana White is from UFC, which is a totally different sport altogether to boxing.”
During his time in the ring, Groves held multiple super-middleweight titles, including the European, British, and Commonwealth titles between 2010 and 2014.
He also defeated Chris Eubank Jr to win the IBO super middleweight title in the World Boxing Super Series final in 2018.
In 2019, Groves announced his retirement from the sport and now works as a boxing pundit and coach.
Featured Image Credit: Photo by Jeremy Bishop on Unsplash
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