George Groves launches astonishing sideswipe at Chris Eubank Snr: 'He had too many hand-picked opponents'

Georges Groves has launched an astonishing sideswipe at Chris Eubank Snr, the father of his rival on Saturday night, revealing that he had stopped sparring with Eubank Jnr - whom he respected - because he found his dad almost impossible to handle in the gym.

Groves also disparaged Eubank Snr's career, saying that the former two-weight world champion, now 52, had "too many hand-picked opponents".

Eubank Jnr, then four fights into his professional career, was brought into Groves' camp by trainer Adam Booth between 2011 and 2013, at first to prepare for his grudge fight with James DeGale. But unbeknownst to the current World Boxing Association super-middleweight champion, his overseer Booth was testing his mental strength, with Eubank Snr the challenge.

“I had Junior in sparring for DeGale," revealed Groves. "He was available and he was cheap. But the dad really was a good test of my mental stability. That’s partly why Adam Booth brought him in. He was worried if I could keep my composure and thought if I can put up with the dad, I’m mentally strong.

“Ultimately, that’s why I stopped sparring Junior because I couldn’t put up with the dad. It wasn’t worth it to put up with the rubbish which came out of his mouth.

“The son was brilliant. He would come in moody, do his rounds and leave. If I bashed him up, I might get a smile. If he thought he did well, he would walk out with a swagger."

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Groves, asked if he would have beaten Eubank Snr when he was in his prime, added: “I haven’t seen much of him, but I’m sure I would have. He had enough losses on his record and I don’t fall for his bulls***. Back then, a lot of people got annoyed by his gimmicks and fought with emotion. I wouldn’t do that.

“The losses to Steve Collins are the only fights I have seen where Collins won every minute of every round. That was his game plan. Whether his dad came away from that and thought ‘that’s how it’s got to be’, I don’t know because his dad never fought like that.

“He was about posturing, being heavy-handed. He probably wasn’t much of a trainer. James DeGale called him a domestic world champion last week, which I thought was quite good.

“It was a different era. Maybe he wouldn’t have survived in this era, maybe he would have got beat. Maybe people would have seen through him because in this era, you have to step up.

“His son had to step up because in this era, you can’t get away with too many hand-picked opponents.”

Groves believes Eubank Jnr leans on the metal security of his father being around. "He keeps saying he is stepping out of his shadow. You don’t need to have him around. He’s either scared of taking that step on his own or he can’t get rid of his dad. Either way that’s a problem for him. And if it isn't, why not just leave him at home?"