Anthony Ogogo insists George Groves has ‘every right’ to enjoy retirement amid weight jibes

Anthony Ogogo has leapt to George Groves’ defence after boxing fans cruelly mocked the former world champion for allegedly putting on weight since retiring from the sport. 

Groves, 33, hung up his gloves in 2018 with an impressive record of 28 wins and four losses, having won the WBA super middleweight title back in 2017.

The Londoner has since taken up punditry duties, offering his wisdom on Sky Sports for some of the biggest events on the calendar.

Anthony Ogogo has leapt to George Groves’ defence after he was the target of cruel remarks

Boxing fans cruelly mocked the former world champion’s weight on Saturday night

And Groves was the target of cruel abuse on Saturday night, with some fans claiming the former boxer has put on weight in retirement. 

Fellow British boxer Ogogo has launched a staunch defence of his friend, saying the former super middleweight has ‘every right’ to enjoy life post-fighting. 

‘My mate George Groves is trending, mainly coz [sic] ppl [sic] are digging him out for putting on a bit of weight since retiring. 

Fellow boxer Anthony Ogogo said Groves has ‘every right’ to enjoy his retirement

Groves won the WBA super middleweight championship during his stellar boxing career

‘Dedicated himself to the hardest sport in the world for 20yrs, 24/7 diet, sold out Wembley & became world champ too! Has every [right] to indulge. Congrats mate, enjoy’.

Other fans agreed with Ogogo, labelling criticism of Groves as ‘pathetic’ on Twitter.

‘Twitter folk banging on about George Groves weight… pathetic,’ one fan wrote. ‘The man spent his career dedicated to ridiculous fitness and diet regimes. He’s no longer a boxer. He no longer has to do that.’

Others called out the ‘pathetic’ criticism of Groves, with some saying they were ‘happy’ for him

‘George Groves looking proper healthy now he’s retired. Good on him. Looks happy,’ another said

‘Love George Groves even more now I can see how much he’s enjoying retirement.’  

While Groves will be best remembered as a world champion, he also helped kickstart a golden era for British boxing, capturing the nation’s attention during his grudge fights with Carl Froch, the second of which attracted 80,000 fans at Wembley.

The bitter rivals have since put their rivalry to one side and worked together on punditry duties during the Boxxer event on Saturday night, as David Avanesyan stopped Liam Taylor in the second round to defend his European welterweight title.