Former super-middleweight world champion George Groves has shared memories of sparring with Kazakh boxer Gennady Golovkin, reports infohub.kz.
In an interview, Groves said he sparred with Golovkin right after his defeat to Carl Froch in the rematch at Wembley Stadium. "Honestly, I wasn't in shape. I wasn't going to show my best, but I wanted to spar with Golovkin, who was a fearsome middleweight. I was a super-middleweight, so it didn't seem like a problem. We would never have been rivals, and if we had been, and he moved up to super-middleweight, maybe I would have had a bit of experience in that regard," the boxer noted.
Groves emphasized Golovkin's high level: "He's a very good fighter. Probably one of the best fighters I've ever sparred with, considering I had the height advantage. He moved around the ring very well. He set traps."
According to the Briton, at that time Golovkin had ten days before his fight, while Groves himself had only two days in training camp. "Gennady Golovkin broke my right rib. I think he jumped up and then suddenly lunged down, and I heard a loud crack. I thought, 'Oh, he's broken my rib.' But if someone had to break my rib, I'm glad it was Gennady. We stopped the sparring because, obviously, I wasn't properly prepared for it. I jumped out, thanked him for the rounds, and that was it, honestly, my trip ended. After that, we went home. It was a great sparring session with a really good fighter, an amazing fighter," Groves concluded.