‘I woke the bear’… How George Groves enraged a monster during a wild trip to Cuba

EXCLUSIVE: George Groves infuriated a terrifying Cuban fighter during an explosive clash.

Before he turned professional, the Brit hopped on an 11-hour flight, for a trip that was wild both inside and outside of the ring.

George Groves made Luis Garcia very angry

George Groves, who’s currently in Dubai, UAE, watching the IBA Men’s Elite World Championships, had a crazy amateur career of his own. The legend went around the world, making unbelievable memories. Groves was once warned he could get shot during a venture to Bosnia. And now, the former WBA super middleweight world champion has opened up about his epic adventure in Cuba.

In an exclusive interview with Sporf, he reminisced: “Liverpool hosted the Cadet World Championships that I was a fraction too old for, but Anthony Ogogo and Kal Yafai won gold and got treated to a trip to Cuba. I got ‘FOMO’, and said, ‘Listen guys, I’ve got to get on that trip’, so I squeezed on. We went and stayed in Havana, and we trained with the Cuban national amateur team. It was a fantastic learning experience. It was supposed to be a training camp with these guys, and at the end, we were going to box them.

“We’re out there, we’re young lads, so we’re having a good time. We’re doing the training and the long runs with the Cubans, and they’re taking us off on these mad trails. I remember, we were paranoid, saying, ‘Are they trying to get us tired or lost’? From there, we were hustling in the town centre trying to buy cigars.

“It was fascinating to see how little these guys had. They didn’t have boxing bags, they had tyres tied together. They didn’t have running water in the gym. Anthony Ogogo sat down on a plug socket one day and got an electric shock because the wiring was so bad.

“We did warm-up drills with them. We’d be following the pace, and that’s when I realised as a Brit, I’ve got no rhythm. These Cubans have natural rhythm. They were doing the salsa, the sambo, they’re jiving. I had nothing.

“At the end of the week, we were working out who we were boxing. And the person I thought was light heavyweight turned out to be the middleweight fighting me. His name was Luis Garcia. He was always outside smashing the tyre with a sledgehammer. He was quite lazy, wouldn’t do the runs, but then if you asked him to, he’d sprint the last bit and be the fastest dude.

“They couldn’t get a venue with proper officials, so we did an exhibition at the end of the week in their gym. I was 17, an aggressive guy back then, used to win a lot of my bouts with power. I thought, ‘I’m just going to stick it on him’. So, I jumped on Luis Garcia and was landing big shots, but all I did was wake the bear. He cracked his neck, and beat me up for the rest of the fight.

“This was the days before smartphones, on a VHS camcorder, you see Jim Davidson, the amateur coach, get up for me with about 40 seconds left, ring the bell, and sit down. I had a major black eye. I was meant to go clubbing that year, but I stayed in bed sulking. Luis Garcia won the world championships that year. He lived in Miami and Ireland, but never exploded as a professional.”

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George Groves praises IBA Men’s Elite World Championships

In the years since Groves’ time in the amateurs, the game has completely changed, with the IBA promoting a tournament, with an $8.32 million prize pot that gives the stars of the future an opportunity to change their lives forever.

‘St George’ beamed: “Big up the IBA. I’m really enjoying being here in Dubai, UAE. For amateurs to get this sort of exposure, which was non-existent back in my day, it is great for them, the IBA, and all of their teams.”

Featured Image Credit: Sky Sports