Sport.co.uk is always down the back alleys of pubs and clubs up and down the country, in a frenzied pursuit of well, erm, amongst other things, the 'next Ricky Hatton' and next 'Frank Bruno.' In a bar in the depths of darkest East London we came across 'The Saint' George Groves, who is unbeaten, has already beaten the Olympic gold medalist James Degale , and looks tougher than a pitbull on crack. Trust us, this lad is destined for the big time...
So, first things first, you went for the nickname 'Saint George' – did you ever think about 'Gorgeous George?'
Yeah. The only thing with 'Gorgeous George' is that every 'Gorgeous George' I’ve ever met isn’t gorgeous, but the total opposite! I think there’s some sort of pun intended. I like to think of myself as a half-decent looing chap, you know, but 'Saint' just worked for me. Maybe my name might change to 'Gorgeous George' when I’m coming towards the end of my career, but if I keep winning fights than I’ll keep the one I’ve got now.
Were there any other nicknames you thought of other than 'Saint' and 'Gorgeous?'
Yeah, there were a few floating around as I was growing up: 'King George,' 'Golden Grovesy,' all these fancy names. You almost put pressure on yourself to live up to these crazy names. After James Degale came home with an Olympic gold medal, it’s a bit inappropriate to call myself ‘Golden’ with just my junior gold medals and stuff like that. It was actually David Haye who came up with ‘Saint George,’ and I think it works well; it represents me and, hopefully, the better I get and the bigger I get, the more I’ll grow into that name.
You beat an Olympic champion, and they’re aren’t many who’ve beaten James Degale. How much confidence did that give you and how important a victory was it, albeit as an amateur boxer?
I ended up boxing my club mate Louis Reed first, while Degale was sat there with his bandages on enjoying the boxing, so I actually had a tough four-rounder to start with before I even got in the ring with the future Olympic champion. I knew I had it all to do but I knew that I’d sparred with the guy a million times in the gym, so I knew what I had to do to beat him. And it went to plan.
Do you want a piece of him again? Do you think you could do him again?
I think we both want each other now, for different reasons. He’s got the limelight now to talk the talk and that, but it’s up to him to prove it, whereas I’ve got that win over him so I’m pretty sure he’d love to box me as much as I’d love to box him. Pro boxing is totally different to amateur boxing, so now we’re pro it’ll be like a different match with a totally different outcome. Same winning result though, but a different outcome!
James Degale comes under great scrutiny every time he gets in the ring now. Do you think there’ll be a fear factor for him?
It depends which way you look at it. As you say, James De Gale's an Olympic gold medallist and he’s telling everyone that he’s going to win a World title. We know how the previous Olympic champion, Audley Harrison, went; he suffered a few losses and struggled a bit. So it’s up to De Gale to come along and be the new big thing. He’s put that pressure on himself and that’s great, because a lot of boxers do box better under pressure. I’m probably not earning as much money as him, so there’s that pressure on me; I can’t retire after two years. I’ve got to get in there and get to the top. I’m training alongside David Haye and they’re saying, “This is vital for David, this is a world title fight,” but if I lose my next fight then I go back to school or something. Where as World champions don’t. I’d love to box Degale, it would be a fantastic fight for the London fans, the British fans. Hopefully we can get it on in the future.
You’re under Hayemaker Promotions. Am I right in saying you’re debut pro fight was at the O2 Arena, under the same card as Monte Barrett vs David Haye? Is that the biggest arena you’ve boxed in?
Oh yeah, definitely. It was a fantastic night. It’s a world-class arena for boxing. I’m off there soon to see Green Day play! It wasn’t so bad getting in the ring in front of that many people; it was almost like a dream come true. It just shows how lucky I’ve been with my opportunities and how I just want to take them and run with them. So I had my debut at the O2 and, a year later, near enough to the day, I’m gonna be boxing in Germany on the undercard of a heavyweight world title fight. Stuff like that doesn’t get any better!
How involved is David Haye with you and your development at the moment?
He’s not only my boss but he’s also like my gym buddy; we train together, we’ve got the same coach, Adam Booth, I’m in the gym with him nearly every day which is great ‘cause I’ve got someone to look up to. Any problems I have, I can say, “David, what do you think of this?” and he can give me his experience. It can take years to build up but I feel like I’m getting little extras every day from training alongside a world champion.
How good do you think David Haye is?
He’s got style to go with his persona and personality. There’s boxers out there who are happy to just do the job and get through the fight, collect their money and off they go, but David really wants to entertain the fans, he wants to make a statement, he wants to build a legacy. He has stepped up weights, nd he could have stayed at that weight and boxed guys who would never beat him, but he decided that wasn’t for him and that he wanted a step up, a new challenge.
That’s how I want to approach my boxing career; that’s why I signed up with these guys. I want to be tested, I want a challenge. I don’t want to be looked after too much, you know? I want to be in fights where there are calculated risks and a danger factor. At the moment, I’m number 11 in Britain after four fights; there’s no-one else in the country in pretty much any of the weight classes that can say that. I think I’m doing really well.
Who would be your dream fight?
Domestically, the guys who are in and around my level who’ve just gone pro; the Olympians, like Tony Jeffries, James De Gale you mentioned earlier. The only Englishman who ever beat me as an amateur was Mr Travis Dickinson. He’s gone pro now and he’s undefeated. I wouldn't mind having a crack at him, trying to get a bit of revenge, in the future. And on the world scene, it’s hard to tell at this stage ‘cause you don’t know who’s gonna be around in three or four years’ time.
I’ve done sparring with Haye and the boys in the past and I know the level that I need to get to. If those guys are still knocking about by the time I manage to get there then there might be a few of those big fights down the line. They’ve got the Super 6 Super Middleweight tournament coming up and we’re talking about mixing it in with some sparring. There’s definitely gonna be some world class sparring knocking about. Stuff like that is great for boxing; it’s keeping my weight division really interesting and lively.
How did you get into boxing and who were your heroes?
I’m not from a boxing family, which is how a lot of people get into it. I was just an energetic kid who wanted to try everything. I couldn’t go to the boxing gym ‘cause I was too young, so I tried kickboxing and just fell in love with it. I love the physical aspect, the contact, you know? I moved into boxing when I was about ten and I knew that was all I wanted to be. I grew up watching people like Nigel Benn, who was a real people’s champion who boxed with his heart and had so much courage. That’s stuff that really appeals to people and it has always appealed to me. So if I could somehow be like that without taking too many shots and just being a warmonger, then that would be fantastic.
Who are you up against on the card in Germany for the big David Haye fight?
We’re not sure yet. Hopefully it will be at least an eight or ten rounder. This Sunday coming, I’m boxing Matthew Barr from Kingston. It’s going to be my first eight rounder and this is against a guy who’s got tonnes of experience; he’s got over ten years’ boxing experience on me. I think he’s had close to twenty professional fights. He’s been winning, he’s come back from a break; you wonder why people are coming back? Do they want one more go or do they know something better now that they didn’t know before? So it’s going to be a really interesting test. It’s going to be interesting to see how I’m gonna break this guy down.
George 'The Saint' Groves boxes under Hayemaker promotions. Returning in full pumped-up glory as the headliner at HAYEMAKER 10 in Bethnal Green’s historic York Hall on Sunday, October 4th. This is an unmissable chance to see the rise of The Saint on his one man crusade to world domination.Ringside tickets £45 Standard tickets £30. Doors open at 2.45pm, boxing starts at 3pm - call the ticket hotline on 07939387980. For more information on this event at future fights go to www.georgegroves.com.