George Groves’ preparation for his showdown with Carl Froch hit a dramatic bump after it was revealed the fighter faces a legal battle with ex-trainer Adam Booth.
As reported by Jeff Powell of the Daily Mail, Groves' training time has been cut short by court duties that will decide if Booth receives in the region of £100,000 from the boxer’s purse for the super-middleweight contest:
The north Londoner was obliged to attend Tuesday’s hearing of the Southern Area Council for several hours. He and his lawyers were confronted by Booth and his legal team at a secret venue in London.
Froch, the IBF and ‘regular’ WBA world champion, was, meanwhile, in full training.
Booth’s claims come after the trainer recently parted ways with Groves, per Sky Sports.
With Groves set to pocket £350,000-£450,000 for the Sky Box Office encounter, per Powell’s report, Booth may be eligible for manager’s fees after setting up and largely preparing Groves for the fight.
The case raises an interesting debate as to where a trainer's influence ends once he splits with a boxer. Booth has helped Groves get to this stage of his career and imparted much wisdom on him, wisdom the 25-year-old will take into future fights regardless of his divide from his former mentor.
The hearing will take place before the title contest in Manchester and could continue to disrupt Groves' training regime in the lead up to the most significant fight of his life on Nov. 23.
Any outcome is set to go to the British Boxing Board of Control, as noted by General Secretary Robert Smith:
"There is a possibility that this could go before our appeal stewards after that," he said.
Groves’ payout is a smidgen of the £1.5 million fee Froch looks set to bag from the fight, per ESPN.
The London-born fighter has triumphed over Dario German Balmaceda, Baker Barakat and Noe Gonzalez Alcoba this year, putting him in contention for Froch’s IBF and WBA super-middleweight titles.
Froch recently won the latter with an impressive victory over Mikkel Kessler and has carried the IBF belt since his TKO of Lucian Bute in 2012.
The Nottingham-based fighter has responded excellently since losing his WBC crown to Andre Ward at the end of 2011 and will pose a much greater threat than any of the opponents his rival has overcome.
Should Groves receive a favourable court settlement and maintain his unbeaten record after clashing with Froch, British boxing will have a new global superstar to get excited about.
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