George Groves: Eddie Hearn Has SOLD OUT Anthony Joshua With Jake Paul Fight

In an exclusive interview with FootItalia, former WBA champion George Groves laid into Matchroom CEO Eddie Hearn for selling out Anthony Joshua by lining him up to fight Jake Paul. Saint George also said it makes sense for Conor Benn to fight Ryan Garcia next after his rematch win over Chris Eubank Jr…

• – Mercenary Eddie Hearn has sold Joshua out with Paul fight 💰

• – Jake Paul is leaving no stone unturned if sparring rumours are true 🥊

• – Froch is WRONG – Conor Benn should fight Ryan Garcia next ❌

• – Don’t rule out a shock result if Wardley gets a shot at Usyk 😳

• – Whittaker has lightning hands but he’s still miles off world level ⚡

• – It’s too late for Anthony Yarde to dump Tunde Ajayi at this stage ⏳

FootItalia: George you were commentating for the BBC recently. It’s great to see boxing back on the BBC. What was your highlight from that show? 

George Groves: It is great to have boxing back on the BBC. I think you have to be careful when you say it’s been 20 years since boxing was shown on the BBC because there have been some regional shows like Lauren Price in Wales. So I don’t want to undermine any of the BBC audience but we were up there in Derby for the Boxxer show. Ben Shalom’s Boxxer promotions. They had a heavyweight British title fight, which was Frazier Clark against Jeamie TKV, which was the perfect sort of fight for the British audience on the BBC and then supporting bout was Francesca Hennessy, who boxed very well. It was a great little show and the heavyweights, even though there was a lot of, not so much holding but a lot of close work, good work on the inside. Jeamie TKV came out with a win, I think on my card on the night, had it had him the winner as well. 

If I go back and I watch it, I might make a case a little bit more for some of the rounds to be Frazer Clarke’s, but he showed immense bravery and resilience to a certain degree, because I think he was buzzed, but also exhausted by the end. There were the dying seconds of the 11th round. He was stumbling around. Frazer honestly looked like he was gone. At one point he would look completely gone, and then as again, as I say, I’m not sure if we saw it on the tv, but in the corner, his coach, Angel Fernandez, was just trying to get his attention. It felt like he’s, I’m going to pull this fight. I’m going to pull this fight in Frazer would say, I’m here. I’m okay. Give me one more round. An entertaining fight. Both guys left it all in there. Um, I think I picked Frazier Clark to beat Jamie TKV before the fight was announced, but congratulations to TKV.

FootItalia: We saw Ben Whittaker’s first Matchroom appearance and he blew Benjamin Gavazzi away with a first round stoppage at the NEC. Obviously that was what was expected, but he still got the job done. 

GG: I was hoping to see a little bit more Ben Whittaker. You’d want a little bit more in terms of the opponent and the opponent couldn’t do anymore because that was what he was. He got an inflated record beating journeyman to get to that point. And he did look novice. You hear Adam Smith on the commentaries, use the word novice and then seconds later he gets blasted out. Whittaker showed the ability that he’s got. He has lightning fast hands, he put his combinations together and he finished him with that right hand. It goes straight, down a pipe. Straight through the guard and he’s left splatted on the floor. I think they’re talking about 2027 for a world title. I thought I heard four fights, which makes sense. So they’ve had one now and then three fights next year. But it’s definitely going to have to be going through the levels if he’s going to be challenging for a world title.

FootItalia: Fabio Wardley has got the option of making a voluntary defense of his WBO belt before he has to face a mandatory challenger. There’s options out there for him. Where would you be looking if you were in his shoes? 

GG: That’s a good question. Fabio Wardley. The heavyweight champion of the world. And he needs to win his next fight to say he won. If he retired tomorrow, he’s going to go down in history as the heavyweight champion of the world. But I’m not a huge fan of just elevating an interim you know, an interim champion to a full champion. Fabio Wardley wants to get a win. It’s got to be against a top guy really. They mentioned AJ potentially but he has got Jake Paul. It could be Jake Paul. I think if Jake Paul hadn’t sealed the deal then maybe, but maybe that fight don’t take place. Maybe that is just the profile of Joshua, it is more than the belt for Wardley but anything’s possible with Fabio Wardley in his career, isn’t it. Talking about Frazier Clark, who’s just been beat for a British Title fight and you’re really struggling. Where does this guy go from here? Those two guys had a draw in an epic fight not that long ago and Wardley has gone on and had wins since he had that crushing win in the rematch against Clarke but then came from behind against Parker and now he’s heavyweight champion of the world. I think what’ll happen is he’ll fight Usyk, maybe I’m way out of the loop and that I’ve missed something along the way.

But much like Usyk vacated his belt so that Dubois could have it and then they could fight and it’s another unification. I can sort of see the same, but with not even a fight in between for Wardley, maybe they would just go, we’ll do that, do it in London, put it in a stadium. It’s a unification fight. That could sell, really sell. And who would back against Fabio Wardley, does he have the ability to beat Usyk? Absolutely not, but can anything happen for him in the heavyweight division, absolutely. I’m grateful now that he got the win because if Parker had won and then with the drug test after everything would’ve been up in the air right now. I’m hoping that will get sorted out. It’s a bit of a weird one Joseph Parker at this stage of his career to be testing positive for recreational drugs, hopefully that gets cleared up.

FootItalia: Anthony Joshua has confirmed he won’t be training under Ben Davison for his fight with Jake Paul, but will instead prepare with members of Oleksandr Usyk’s team. Good move for you?

GG: I would love to go and train with those guys, I’d love to go and hang out with those guys. I bet there’s plenty to learn from those guys. Will it make a difference and help him in the next fight, I’m not sure. Maybe he’s just doing it because he wants to hang out with those guys and see what it is. He might just be thinking, I don’t need to go with the best guys in the world to beat Jake Paul. I’m not exactly sure what he’s thinking, what he’s doing. They say you can’t teach an old dog new tricks. Joshua might be able to catch the coins, maybe do the funky dancing because there’s a skill and an art to all these things. Obviously you’re doing it for a bit of click bait at times but if you’ve got some nifty tricks and something up your sleeve, I’d fully be up for that. I think maybe Usyk can help with that.

FootItalia: Lawrence Okolie has offered to help Jake Paul prepare for his fight with AJ. Would you train Paul if he offered you serious money to do so?

GG: Yeah, sure. He is a lovely fellow. You’d help anyone in need. I saw a picture where he actually had Okolie, he had Jared Anderson and then there was one other, and I was like, that’s a formidable sparring team that you’ve accumulated for the Joshua fight. But what are you doing with them? Are you doing like 12 rounds and you’re bringing them in fresh after every couple of rounds, so it’s literally just for the picture. But if he’s doing it then he’s leaving no stone unturned, he’s managed to get himself some top quality sparring.

FootItalia: Ryan Garcia claims that he turned down 15 million to fight Jake Paul, obviously there’s a huge weight difference there. He wants to fight Conor Benn, can you see that happening? And if it does happen, how do you see that going?

GG: I like that fight and I think it’s a good fight. I think it’ll be an interesting buildup. Garcia seems a little bit more with it these days, less wacky, more stable and that’ll be a great fight. Conor Benn, I thought he boxed brilliantly against Eubank and therefore deserves a big fight or continue within the big fights fighting the big names. I think there’s a lot to like about Conor Benn right now. Let’s see him in with some other top quality operators and see if he can continue to look good. But the Garcia fight makes a lot of sense, I think Garcia makes sense.

FootItalia: Lewis Crocker has been calling out Conor Benn, Benn doesn’t wanna fight him, ironically because of the rehydration clause. So, you know, it’s a lot of swings and roundabouts there. because obviously Eubank Junior had the rehydration clause. But, uh, yeah. What do you reckon to that?

GG: The IBF, if you wanna fight for that belt, you have a 10 pound weight limit. You can’t be more than 10 pounds the morning after. So that’s that, I’ve done that before. The thing is 10 pounds doesn’t matter if you are Cruiserweight or a featherweight, it is a big difference. It’s not percentage wise, but maybe i’m out of the loop but that’s how it used to be. I guess he’s looking at it from the point of view that there’s bigger financial fights out there than Lewis Crocker. If he backs himself to beat Lewis Crocker, why would you not take that, he’s got the belt and then you’ve got the belt and then you’re rarely not in the driver’s seat. Then you can fight the big names and you’re the champion. So he might be just using that to bide his time. I’m sure he’s got a lot of options and it just can take a little while to work out which way he wants to go but that’s another fight that I’d love to see.

FootItalia: There’s renewed buzz around a heavyweight showdown between Deontay Wilder and Andy Ruiz Jr. Does that fight pique your interest? Who wins?

GG: It’s been a while since a Wilder fight, I don’t know. You’re not excited I’m guessing? Nah, I’ll watch it but Wilder time and time again when he was the champion, he got a lot of passes, he couldn’t pull the trigger, but he finally would and then he’d knock the guy out and he’d be great. It’s okay when people will really back you, but when you are there just to be in an entertaining fight he’s gotta be entertaining and I dunno, It could be good, Ruiz is entertaining.

FootItalia: Leigh Wood will run it back against Josh Warrington early next year. Their feud kind of mirrors yours and Carl Froch’s. How do you see the rematch playing out?

GG: Well they’re both popular guys from their areas. I’ve seen clips and bits where they are sticking the knife in on each other. It does seem genuine. It makes sense for them to do it again. It’s taken a long time to get it on. Yeah, it has, hasn’t it? I’m not sure exactly what that, what that was about.

FootItalia: Anthony Yarde – three failed attempts to win the world title now – is he going to go back in for more?

GG: I’m not sure where he is at, at this stage. Benavidez was good. He’s so crude, but strong and heavy handed. I thought maybe this would be Anthony’s best chance of winning one. I’d like to see him in a few domestic fights. If he wants to. There should be some money there for him for that. He’s boxed Lyndon Arthur, but let’s get him back in the mix with maybe Callum Simpson or Joshua Buatsi or something like that. 

FootItalia: Do you think he needs to change the setup there?

GG:  It’s too late now. They’ve been training for so long, it’s too late. At times you do need to freshen it up. But it’s not just that. Tony’s not just like a rent-a-coach for him. They’re fully invested and that’s how they work. Therefore, when it does run its course, you can’t do anything about it. I remember Yarde was in the gym years before he even had a fight. So these guys, they turn over, and he’s only had a handful of amateur fights, but they’ve probably been training like pros, being very selective with the amateurs. Usually you’re like, you fit this weekend? You guys are going to championships. They might not have any chance of winning the championships, but they’re going in the championships and then they face a really good kid to get beat. Whereas if you are managing them like you would a pro, you’d go, ah, I’ll put you in ’cause you’re going to beat this kid. You’re going to beat this kid. Oh, this kid’s too good. I’ll pull you out. Sometimes that happens with famous kids, or famous fathers. Chris Eubank sent his son off ’cause he knew that he’d just be a target. So he’d boxed out of the states. Shane McGuigan, very selective as an amateur, because there’s a thing above his head. But I think Anthony Yarde will be with Tony for the rest of his days.

FootItalia: Agit Kabayel said he’s ready to challenge Oleksandyr Usyk – if he defeats Damian Knyba he will become the mandatory challenger. Do you give him a chance against Usyk?

GG: I like Kabayel. I think he’s a very good fighter. A very, very good fighter, tough fighter. Skillful and gets the job done, he gets the win. I wouldn’t pick him in front of Usyk, but as always with Usyk now, he’s gotta be pushing 40 at some point. Is he going to get old? It’s not going to work out for him. But yeah, I wouldn’t back anyone in front of Usyk right now. It’s tough too, but Kabayel is no doubt going to be in the mix to pick up when Usyk retires. 

FootItalia: As a man who takes nutrition seriously, what did you make of Big John Fury’s revelation that he eats the same meal three times a day. It’s a stew of lamb hearts, liver ox, tongue barley, red cabbage, onions, potatoes, vegetables.

GG: That’s what Big John Fury eats? Has he got one of them slow cookers? Must just have one of ’em slow cookers. Just keeps it going, isn’t it? They’re great! Get one of them. John might have a deal coming up. George Foreman had the grill, he’s got the slow oven. He’s getting in his organs. That’s important. People shy away from them. But you talk to the older generations. They always ate the heart, the liver, the kidneys and I try to get them in, sporadically. My dog loves them as well. I think he’s got a similar diet to my dog.

FootItalia: We haven’t seen much of him recently have we? 

GG: I think Huey boxed the other day, but they’re on the other side of the clan now with Peter, the brother. Andy, I think I saw a picture of them all too. I think Fury’s training because he was in a picture with Andy Lee and his team. Joseph Parker might have been in that picture as well, so it might have been old. Maybe I’m wrong. But yeah, I ain’t had much from him. Get Froch on their case.

FootItalia: Obviously Froch and AJ had their little back and forth over text message. Have you heard anything from AJ about this fight? 

GG: No, no, no. Me and me and AJ aren’t like that.

FootItalia: How quickly do you think you’ll dispatch Jake Paul? 

GG: I can’t even see it happening. I’m still skeptical. I dunno how you can just pull the rug under it. This is getting close. I would’ve liked Joshua to have said, nah. The whole thing is beneath me. Then people will say he’s getting £50 million. I don’t know his finances, but say he’s got £250 million, right? You don’t need anymore. You can always take more, but you don’t need more. If you’re sacrificing legacy or spirit. At what point is money enough? And the promoters will say, you gotta do it. Because all promoters aren’t driven by the same things that fighters are driven by. They’re driven by money. The financial gain they get is their legacy. So that’s the only way they can be, otherwise they would burn out. Because you go on a journey with a fighter and then you’re like, oh, there’s more money. There’s more money, more money, more money. And it’s always about money. The promoters have got more money than anyone else. So the promoters will say, this is a great idea, Joshua. This is brilliant. So much money, easy warmup fight for you. You just can have a warmup fight. Instead of fighting someone down the card somewhere, you can headline Netflix and get £50 million and fight a YouTube boxer. But wouldn’t it have been cool if Joshua just went, f*ck that, I’m actually a professional, I’m going to fight someone who’s worthy of sharing a ring with me.

I think it would’ve been tough for most people, but I would walk away if I was Joshua. Beneath me. I guess his point of view is, if I don’t do it, someone else will take that money.  Let someone else take the money. Let someone else sell out. Eddie Hearn has sold AJ out. 

FootItalia: He said himself if AJ loses it’s over for Matchroom, it’s over for boxing.

GG: It’s not over for Matchroom. It’s not over for boxing. Because the promoters come again. Me and Eddie went head-to-head and he was climbing, I was climbing. I boxed Froch at Weberley Stadium. I lost. He carried on going. But then there’s been times where he’s gone and Joshua’s got knocked out and Joshua gets a rematch. Promoters just go forever. It’s how boxing works. If they’re good and they’re driven.

FootItalia: Will you be tuning in on December 19th?

GG: Absolutely. It’s still in Miami. There’s a bit of boxing coming up in December. I would love to go, I might have to edit this out, but I should be working for the BBC on Saturday night when Callum Simpson defends his European title in Barnsley. Otherwise you’ll be in Dubai. Andrew Tate’s fighting. Misfits. How’s that going to go down? Chase DeMoor. That’s what Eddie’s doing. Chase De-more money!