Groves: I Contacted Hearn To Face Callum Smith, No Response

By Edward Chaykovsky

According to George Groves, he reached out to promoter Eddie Hearn of Matchroom Sport about the possibility of facing countryman Callum Smith, but there was no response to his request.

Last month on the Anthony Joshua-Dominic Breazeale undercard at the O2 Arena in London, Groves (24-3-18KOs) won a dominating twelve round unanimous decision over Martin Murray in a WBA final super middleweight eliminator.

Smith (20-0-15KOs) has been staying busy, but taking it easy at the same time because he's the mandatory challenger to WBC world super middleweight champion Badou Jack - who is heading into a unification with IBF champion James DeGale in the fall.

Groves told Sky Sports: "I texted [promoter] Eddie [Hearn]. Me and him are quite [good] pals and after I beat Martin Murray, I texted Eddie asking about Smith next. He usually texts me back but this time, he didn't text me back.

"Maybe he's got plans because Callum is waiting for his WBC but if he's got to wait some time then he might fancy a fight beforehand. It would sell a few tickets I think - it would be a good one for the fans.

"We're fortunate to be in a good division with big fighters, big personalities and a lot of them are from Britain as well. There's potential there to make huge fights and I think it's inevitable. It's always down to a bit of timing. Everyone's up for fighting each other and that's the most important thing."

Smith believes the fight will eventually happen in the future.

"It's a fight I've no doubt I'll win but it's a good fight for the British public. He's well-known and I'm unbeaten. We both want the same thing - to become world champion - so I'm sure it's a fight that can happen in the future. As long as we both keep winning then it's always going to be talked about," Smith said.