George Groves

“If you asked me to go on stage now, even to do karaoke, I'd fall apart. I'm far more comfortable getting stuck into a fight.”

“Chudinov is one of the toughest guys I fought. It was only the slump of his shoulders that made me think he's hurt because there's no grimace, or rolling eyes. He was never going down.”

“I have always wanted to be European champion, because it is a fantastic title and so many great boxers have held the belt over the years.”

“I don't want to have lunch with a sultan. I would rather watch Netflix.”

“Being champion, there's a different mindset.”

“Brits love a road trip supporting a British fighter.”

“If you are very nervous, it is going to affect you and you start feeling tired or anxiety sets in.”

“If I'm confident in my ability to do something, I never get nervous about it. If I was to get up and try to sing in front of 50,000 people, I'd fall to pieces. But boxing, I find it really comfortable.”

“Who wants to watch the WBSS final without me in it?”

“There's always talk about going out on top, unfortunately for me that means going out on a loss but it's going out at the highest level. I'm happily satisfied and it makes a lot of sense to me.”

“I've won junior titles, ABA titles and boxed for England all over the world against future Olympic champions as an amateur - and then beat world-class fighters as a professional.”

“I love comedy and I did a few gigs here and there but it never really took off. It was too scary.”

“There's a lot I can offer boxing.”

“I was never going to be one to just go away quietly and get on with things in the shadows.”

“That's the reality of boxing - it can be over in a flash.”

“Carl Froch never really does too well away from home and he is very settled and comfortable in Nottingham.”

“In 2017, I boxed in front of a home crowd in Sheffield and became the WBA super-middleweight world champion. After four attempts I had finally fulfilled my childhood dream, and the experience was as great as I had always imagined it would be. It was without doubt the best moment of my career.”

“I don't want there to be a time where I'm 'too old' to box on, or where an injury retires me in or out of the ring.”

“You decide whether you want to box on, or not. And for me of course, I wasn't going to be leaving the business until becoming a world champion, and defending it numerous times.”

“Motivational talks are something I have been asked to do and i fancy taking a crack at it.”