Although he’s been retired for more than four years now, the former super-middleweight world champion hasn’t been forgotten (yet). Known for his fantastic footwork and jabs inside the ring, since the day of his retirement, much has changed for the boxer.
It’s not just his career he’s changed (expert pundit); he also looks very different now than when he was a boxer. Most notably, it’s his hairline that’s changed.
While he didn’t really grow long hair during his career (except for the early days), you could still clearly see the outline of his hairline. And it looks quite different now.
Many of George’s fans believe that the former world champion had a hair transplant. And while there’s no confirmation from the boxer himself, it certainly does appear that way. In this blog, we’ll take a closer look at George Groves’ hair transplant (alleged, obviously).
Who Is George Groves?
George Groves, also known as “The Saint” or “Saint George,” is a former WBA super middleweight champion who started fighting professionally when he was 20.
But, of course, that’s not where things started for him. His amateur career is no less remarkable than his professional one, where he not only won 2 ABA titles, he also fought and won against James DeGale (who’s a two-time super-middleweight champion).
He started when he was 10, and after an amateur career spanning 10 years, he did almost 10 more professionally before deciding to hang up his gloves.
During that time, just two years after joining Hayemaker Promotions, George had his ninth fight with none other than Charles Adamu – a two-time winner of the Commonwealth title. And, George defeated him to win the Commonwealth title for himself.
Following that, he had his ups and downs, especially after his losses against Carl Froch, both being bitter rivals. He had some difficulty getting back into the WBA race, but he finally did make it and ended up becoming a world companion in 2017.
In 2018, after his fight with Callum Smith, the boxer finally announced his retirement with the intention of leaving the ring “intact” and not riddled with injuries. He’s now working as a sports speaker.
How Old Is George Groves?
George Groves was born on 26 March 1988, so he’s 35 at the time of writing.
Keep in mind that he started his amateur career when he was only 10, and he was around 31 years old when he decided to retire from professional boxing.
Why Was George Groves Balding?
George Groves was likely balding because of male pattern baldness, also known as androgenetic alopecia. It tends to run in families and is also influenced by the presence of the hormone dihydrotestosterone (DHT) – a byproduct of testosterone.
What happens is that the hair follicles start to miniaturise. You’ll notice your hair get thinner in some areas, and the scalp starts showing through. It doesn’t happen suddenly. In fact, it slowly progresses for years and your chances of getting balder increase with age.
The hairline starts to recede, and you might notice it becoming uneven. There can also be thinning in the crown region of the scalp.
Looking at George’s photos, it definitely seems like he was losing his hair to pattern baldness. Before he decided to shave all his hair off, it is possible that he was at the Norwood stage 3 of balding.
Has George Groves Had a Hair Transplant?
It’s quite likely that George Groves had a hair transplant sometime after his retirement in 2019. The boxer’s hairline is now much straighter, and his temple peaks aren’t receded anymore, either.
It’s possible that George had made the deliberate decision to shave his hair just so that his baldness would remain hidden. The problem is that it can be difficult to get a hair transplant while playing a professional contact sport.
It can take around 2 weeks for the hair grafts on the scalp to take root. But that’s not where the recovery ends. You may be asked to avoid sports for a month or even longer because of the high risk of injury.
Also, you need to avoid activities that make you sweat or increase your blood pressure to make sure that you recover successfully from your hair surgery. It might be because of these things that George decided to delay his surgery until after he’d retired.
What Type Of Hair Transplant Did George Groves Get?
While George himself hasn’t said anything about it, it’s possible that he had an FUE hair transplant. In an FUE surgery, individual hair follicles are taken out from the back of the scalp and transplanted into the bald spots through small incisions.
There are other variations of this technique as well, such as Sapphire hair transplant and DHI hair transplant. The former uses special v-tipped Sapphire blades, and the latter uses Choi pens. You can even get an unshaven hair transplant through the DHI technique.
But since George already had shaved his hair, he might’ve just gone with the classic FUE. There’s another technique called the FUT (follicular unit transplant) in which a piece of skin is removed from the scar.
It leaves a prominent linear scar on the back of the head. You can see it if a person’s head is shaved. But that’s not the case with George anymore, so we might never know.
How Many Hair Grafts Did George Groves Need?
George Groves might have needed about 1,500 to 2,500 hair grafts for his surgery. This is only an estimate made using a hair graft calculator. The number of grafts you need can depend on different factors.
Because George’s hair was so closely shaved, we can’t really say if he needed a hair transplant in the crown area of his scalp as well. His front hairline, on the other hand, might have needed 1,600 to 2,000 grafts.
Where Did George Groves Have His Hair Transplant Done?
George hasn’t said anything about where he had his hair transplant. Some say that he had it at a clinic in the UK. However, there are others who also believe that George might’ve had his surgery in Turkey.
Turkey is one of the most popular destinations when it comes to hair transplants. Many celebs in the past have come to Turkey to get a new hairline for themselves. So, it’s not too far out there to imagine George might’ve done the same.
It’s definitely understandable as well because a hair transplant in the UK can cost £6,000 on average. Whereas a hair transplant in Turkey costs around £1,600 with accommodation, transfers, surgery, medication and aftercare included.
Conclusion
George Groves might not admit or say anything about his hair transplant (and that’s completely fine!), but from the looks of it, it does seem like he had this surgery.
You only need to take one look at his hairline to see how its shape has changed. While it was once uneven (due to the recession), it is now much straighter and denser. Groves also seems to be enjoying his new hair, and it definitely looks good.
If you’re also considering this surgery, make sure to do your research to find a qualified and experienced hair transplant surgeon who can give you your desired results.