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BAD BLOOD
‘I f***ing hated George Groves’ – Carl Froch relives famous rivalry ahead of long-awaited Kell Brook vs Amir Khan grudge match
There have been some fierce British boxing rivalries over the years and we will finally see one settled in the ring in February.
The long-awaited Kell Brook vs Amir Khan grudge match will take place on February 19 - a fight you can listen to live on talkSPORT.
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The fight is shaping up to be one of the biggest sporting events of 2022 and who doesn’t love it when two rivals, who genuinely hate each other, meet in the ring.
talkSPORT is producing a special documentary that will air on Sunday, February 13 and is inspired by the rivalry of Brook and Khan.
Bad Blood looks at boxing’s fiercest rivalries, taking a unique peek into the sport's history and looks at rivalries that have spilt over into hatred.
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One that boxing fans will fondly remember is that between Carl Froch and George Groves.
The pair shared two battles, one in 2013 and the other in 2014, and Froch admitted the hate between them was genuine.
“Hate is a strong word and it’s not nice, but I will be honest and I f***ing hated him. I hated him," The Cobra recalled to talkSPORT.
“That’s why it was so bad and yes it was real because you could see it was real.
“You know when it’s fake. David Haye and Tony Bellew kicking toblorones at ringside at each other, slagging each other off and calling him Spongebob Squarepants.
“There was a bit of dislike for each other, but by that time, after me and Groves had done Wembley, people thought ‘hang on a minute, pay-per-view is now back and we can really sell this’.”
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Froch won both fights, with a controversial stoppage in the first, to retain his WBA and IBF super-middleweight titles, with his devastating knockout in the second named ‘Knockout of the Year’ by The Ring magazine in 2014.
But time is often a great healer for these things and he admitted that the two have been able to get on in later years.
He added: “It took time. The first thing is time. It is a great healer. It lets forgiveness come in and we change as people as time goes on.
“I calmed down a bit, I relaxed, and George Groves grew up a little bit. He had kids and went on to win a world title in his own right.
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“The landscape of everything changed and we were kind of forced to work together on Sky Sports. That let us break the ice.
“Once I got to know him and got to have some conversations with him, George Groves the man, the father and husband rather than George Groves the obnoxious f***ing idiot I wanted to punch a hole in his head.
“I wanted to knock his teeth down his throat."
Amir Khan vs Kell Brook is live on talkSPORT on Saturday 19 February from 7.30pm.
To tune in to talkSPORT or talkSPORT 2, click HERE for the live stream.
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