Groves out injured

Haven't seen this put up yet so here it is:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/boxing/15871787.stm

George Groves has withdrawn from his British and Commonwealth super-middleweight title defence fight after sustaining a hand injury in training.

The 23-year-old, whose opponent had yet to be named, was set to joint-headline a card alongside rival James DeGale at the Liverpool Echo Arena on 9 December.

"I'm really gutted as I was coming along nicely in training," said Hammersmith fighter Groves.

"The injury is a setback as I wanted to end the year with four good wins."

He added: "I'm sorry that my fans won't be able to see me in action, but I'll be back early next year and ready to kick off 2012 with a bang as I continue towards further titles."

Earlier this month, Groves defended his British and Commonwealth titles with a stunning second-round knockout of Paul Smith at Wembley Arena.

The victory extended his unbeaten record to 14 wins, which included a memorable win over DeGale.

However, Groves insisted he is not ready for a world title shot despite his impressive performance against Smith.

Promoter Frank Warren added: "It's disappointing for everyone concerned, but George can't fight if his hand is injured and if he did go ahead and put in a sub-par performance we don't want to make excuses.

"He'll have a good rest and treatment and I'll look to get him back out early next year which will be a big one for him.

DeGale's defence of the WBO Intercontinental title against Jose Maria Guerrero will now top the bill and a further title fight could be added.

Unbeaten prospects Billy Joe Saunders and Callum Johnson are also on the card along with the professional debut of Damon Jones.

Im a bit gutted about this to be honest.

After the Smith win, I was looking forward to seeing him fight again as soon as possible. Now its another few months probably what with the break over Dec/Jan.

TBA will be gutted.

rowley wrote:TBA will be gutted.

Na, he's fighting Saunders.

Scottrf wrote:

rowley wrote:TBA will be gutted.

Na, he's fighting Saunders.

Phew, would hate to see him miss out on the payday

Would rather that TBA had had his shot rather than whatever numpty they would have got on such short notice. Shame it's fell through. Seems strange to me that what would've been a card people would be interested in, didn't get advertised much, and had Groves still without an opponent 3 weeks before the fight. I don't think he was ever going to be on the bill.