George Groves

George Groves has become one of the brightest talents in British boxing, despite enduring Olympic heartache at the end of his amateur career.

Groves was overlooked by selectors for the 2008 Olympics and watched from afar as bitter rival James DeGale claimed the gold medal for Great Britain in Beijing.

His painful omission from the GB squad prompted Groves to turn professional that year, with the young fighter making his debut in a points win on the undercard of the David Haye-Monte Barrett fight at the O2 Arena.

During a tough introduction to the paid ranks, Groves blew away the dangerous Paul Samuels inside a round and halted Charles Adamu, who had taken Carl Froch the distance earlier in his career.

Victory over Adamu had earned Groves the Commonwealth title and his first defence in November 2010 was against Kenny Anderson, an unbeaten Scotsman with a fearsome reputation. Groves appeared on the brink of defeat when he was floored in the third round, but fought back bravely to force a sixth round stoppage.

Groves had come through his first crisis, yet questions still remained about his simmering rivalry with DeGale, who had also turned professional. There was bad blood between the duo, stemming from Groves' points win in the amateur ranks, and the pair became embroiled in a war of words ahead of a grudge match in May 2011. But Groves had the final say, securing a narrow points win after a disciplined display.

Groves emerged from this sweet victory with his reputation enhanced and DeGale's British title around his waist. His first defence was against the experienced Paul Smith, who was expected to pose a decent test. Groves ended the Liverpudlian's challenge in ruthless fashion, stopping him in the second round.

Hampered

The Londoner had steadily risen the rankings and was rewarded with a shot at WBO champion Robert Stieglitz in May 2012. Injury problems, however, had hampered him in recent months and a fresh setback forced him to pull out of this date.

Still keen to test his credentials at world level, a fit-again Groves agreed to face former champion Glen Johnson later that year. The battle-hardened Johnson had taken Froch the distance and Groves also picked up a points win over the Jamaican.

In the coming months, Groves switched his sights to Froch, a world champion with a long list of big-name victories. An explosive win over Noe Gonzalez Alcoba, on the undercard of Froch's rematch victory over Mikkel Kessler in 2013, signalled his intent to fight for a world title.

His chance would come in November, with Froch agreeing to put his WBA and IBF belts on the line against his outspoken challenger.

Groves relished the chance to engage his older foe in psychological warfare, but Froch was expected to make his vast experience count on fight night.

Any suggestion that Groves would freeze in the spotlight was quickly dismissed as Froch was floored heavily in the first round. The Nottingham fighter withstood more punishing rounds but finally forced Groves on the back foot, hurting him with a sustained assault which forced Howard Foster's hasty intervention.

The controversy surrounding Froch's ninth-round stoppage win paved the way for a highly-anticipated rematch in May 2014; Groves resumed his mind games, and when they climbed in the ring he again showed his talents.

However, the second time around he could have no complaints about the manner of the defeat. A chilling shot knocked the challenger nearly out of the ring, and it was all over in the eighth round in front of a capacity crowd at Wembley Stadium.

To his credit, 'The Saint' has quickly gone about putting the pair of defeats to Froch in the past. A trilogy is still a hope, but he has no interest in waiting around. Victory over Christopher Rebrasse, who took him the distance, has put him right back in the picture for another world title tilt. Can he make it third time lucky?

Watch Groves v Douglin live and exclusive as part of Cleverly v Bellew II, on Sky Sports Box Office on November 22, with Joshua, DeGale, Quigg and more, also on. Go to skysports.com/cleverlybellew to book.