George Groves laughed off Martin Murray's sparring slur, insisting he was on holiday when he took on Gennady Golovkin.

Murray branded him a "quitter", accusing him of walking away after climbing into the ring with the middleweight knockout specialist at the famous Big Bear camp in California, last year.

The two British super-middleweight stars meet in a make-or-break fight at The O2 on Saturday, live on Sky Sports Box Office, and following the first fall-out, Groves made it clear Murray's claims mean nothing when they climb into the ring,

"I was a little disappointed with Martin," he told Sky Sports.

"I've always said he was a clever and intelligent chap and he understands boxing, but to come out with something about sparring this week and pin his hopes to it?  We all saw him against Gennady Golovkin and he was beaten up badly.

"That's the fact. That's what happened but sparring is sparring, it wasn't like I was preparing for a world title fight and I flew in Golovkin to give me work and then decided he was too good and sent him home again. We were on holiday. It's 8-9,000 above sea level and I was getting out of breath getting up in the morning.

Martin Murray called George Groves a quitter after walking out from Gennady Golovkin

"I was fat and out of shape and Sod's law, I was sparring with Golovkin then. He asked if I wanted his body-belt - so he obviously knew - but I said no.

"Then a couple of days later I got back in and gave a really good account of myself. Probably because I hadn't had that beer the night before."

Watch George Groves vs Martin Murray  as part of Joshua vs Breazeale, live on Sky Sports Box Office from The O2, on June 25. Book the event via your Sky remote or online here.