George Groves has been reinstated by ITV as a broadcast member for the fight between James DeGale and Chris Eubank Jnr at the O2 Arena on Saturday night having earlier in the day been removed from the programme.
It was revealed by Telegraph Sport on Thursday that DeGale’s management team had requested that bitter rival Groves be removed from the broadcast.
However, when the issue was raised at a pre-fight press conference, DeGale said that he was not aware of this issue and had “no objection” to Groves taking part.
ITV press office told Telegraph Sport that the door would be left open for Groves to return to the broadcast and his management team said that they “fully expect George to be taking a full part in the broadcast when Eubank and DeGale fight on Saturday night.”
Chris Eubank Snr accused DeGale’s family of being involved in the protest, insisting that Groves was “perfectly placed to commentate on the fight having fought and beaten both men.”
Groves has victories over both DeGale and Eubank Jr, who will fight for the IBO super middleweight championship at the O2 Arena.
The rivalry between DeGale and Groves dates back to the days of them sharing an amateur boxing club at Dale Youth in Notting Hill.
There has been bad blood between the two men since they fought back in 2011 with Groves winning a controversial split points decision that night.
It was thought that the two would fight later in their careers but the contest never materialized in spite of them both becoming world champions.
Eubank Jr fought Groves last February, losing on a points decision although Groves’ shoulder was dislocated late in the contest.
Groves was not available for comment.
This Article First Appeared on The Telegraph