George Groves caused a stir on Channel 5 this Friday night as UK fans chewed over the old super-middleweight world champion’s new look.
“Saint” was once a proud ginger boasting red locks as he deciphered the British boxing ranks in the late 2000s.
However, Groves went thin on top when he won the British and Commonwealth titles in a 2011 grudge match with James DeGale.
Two fights against Carl Froch followed as Groves began to accept that he was fighting a losing battle to keep his disappearing mane.
George Groves hair transplant
Eventually, Groves claimed a world title for the first time in 2017 at the fourth attempt. By then, he had gone fully shaven, as most men losing their hair choose to do.
Groves was almost bald in the final bout of his career against Callum Smith in 2018 when fighting injured in a seventh-round stoppage.
Stepping away at the tender age of 30, Groves stepped out of the spotlight, raising eyebrows.
The Londoner enjoyed not being in the gym and constantly training for big fights. He piled on the pounds. The ex-Chris Eubank Jr. conqueror was one of those boxers who saw a strict regime as more of a chore.
By the time 2019 came around, Groves was pictured with old foe Froch at a UK Pay Per View event having a chat. He hadn’t yet begun working on his hair transplant.
After a bad reaction from the UK fans, it’s not apparent whether the furor over Groves’ expanding waistline was the catalyst for his surgical procedure.
Groves again remained out of the spotlight while waiting for the transplant to take effect. By May 2020, he emerged with the whispy beginnings of his old ginger hair.
But from then until now, the Groves coif has taken on many different forms and even had some believing it was a toupee.
In a previous TV punditry role, Groves addressed those claims by saying: “Loads of fun on Chanel 5 tonight with the guys covering Hennessy’s show.
“And for those asking, I like to reinvent myself every few years like Madonna. It’s not a [hairpiece]. I grew it myself.”
Ginger to brown
Two and a half years later, Groves spoke live on terrestrial TV for Harlem Eubank’s latest bout. His hair is now thicker than ever but no longer a distinct ginger color.
Browner, with a tint of his old look, Groves looks confident. He is relishing his network role and does an exceptional job with his analysis.
When transplants are performed, the replacement hair is usually taken from the back or the buttocks. It’s unconfirmed which place Groves took his follicles from or whether he returned to the Farjo Clinic in Manchester to get a do-over of his first effort.
However, this doesn’t stop the comments over his transformation from making the social media platforms.
“OMG. I’m a little off the pace, but I’m watching George Groves on Channel 5,” read a comment. “My god, what happened?
“All that hair. All that extra weight. He’s completely unrecognizable. He even talks differently.
“It just shows what he must have gone through to make super-middle.”
Brown, ginger, or bald, as long as George Groves is happy, that’s all that matters.
