GEORGE GROVES took a stirring unanimous decision victory over Chris Eubank Jr at the Manchester Arena on Saturday (February 17) to defend his WBA super-middleweight title. But an injury to his left shoulder, possibly a dislocation, has thrown his participation in the World Boxing Super Series final into doubt. It had been pencilled in for June 2 at the O2 Arena in London.
“It’s a massive concern. It’s a massive concern for the tournament. George Groves’ health is paramount,” his trainer Shane McGuigan said. “I think he missed with a long left hook, when the muscles were tired and fatigued. Eubank was jumping in all night long, coming in with his elbows.
“There were no issues with his shoulder in camp.”
The injury happened in the last round of the Eubank fight. “No towel’s going in, he was so far up on points. Or he should have been. I thought the scorecards were far too close. He was always going to be able to survive,” McGuigan said. Scores were 117-112 for Howard Foster, 116-112 for Steve Gray and 115-113 for Marcus McDonnell.
“Eubank Jr was hurt numerous times in that fight. Stunned. That’s why he was so fatigued,” Shane added. “He took some good shots, he was able to keep coming back.”
McGuigan believes Eubank might need a new team, “not cowboys,” he said pointedly, noting, “I feel like he was lost in there tonight. I feel he needs to go and reassess his career.
“If they fought 10 times, I believe he’d beat him 10 times out of 10 and I believe five times out of 10 he’d stop him.”
