George Groves OK to face Badou Jack after boating head injury
British super middleweight George Groves will be fit and ready for his WBC title clash against Swede Badou Jack this summer despite sustaining a head injury on Monday in a boat accident.
Training with the Royal Marines in south-west England, Groves, 27, was taken to hospital for treatment and a check-up before receiving the all-clear from doctors.
A statement from Team Sauerland read: “We can confirm that a minor incident took place during George Grove’s training camp with the Royal Marines on Monday afternoon as part of his preparation for his forthcoming WBC super middleweight title fight with Badou Jack, scheduled to take place in the United States in late August or early September.
“George was taken to hospital for precautionary checks but immediately released following the incident that took place while taking part in a boat activity with the Marines. The injury will not affect his preparations for the Jack fight and he will continue his training camp as planned.
“George and Team Sauerland hope to make an announcement in the coming days with regards to the date and location of the fight as negotiations continue.”
Kalle Sauerland later told Sky Sports News HQ that two specific dates are being discussed with Jack’s representatives – and Londoner Groves will be fine for either one.
“The fight is very much on. The dates we are looking at are August 22 and September 12,” said the German promoter. “Even the earlier fight date will not be a problem. There is still two months to go. George started his training a while ago and he’s a guy who is generally very fit. He’s not someone who takes long breaks between fights.
“He’s had a long time out but he’s kept himself very active, and has had some good sparring. There will be some minor adjustments to make in the next week but other than that we expect everything to go ahead.”