Commonwealth Super-middleweight champion George Groves will return to action on July 31^st on the undercard of Juan Manuel Marquez v Juan Diaz in Las Vegas.

The Saint will be hoping to make it third time lucky in completing his Vegas dream, having seen two previous stateside bouts fall through. Initially scheduled to fight on the undercard of Shane Mosley and Andre Berto’s cancelled welterweight clash in January, the 22 year-old also saw a place on the Mosley v Mayweather bill in May go up in smoke, or rather volcanic ash, as the dust cloud prevented him from flying.

“My previous frustrations for my delayed US debut have been hard to take but the right thing in hindsight”, said Groves.

“I want to put on a show, be my very best and win over fans stateside. I have 8 weeks to prepare for this fight so I will be in peak condition and ready to rock!

“The US have some very promising Super-middleweights starting to break through, it’s my job to show they won’t be having it all their own way in years to come on the biggest stage.

“GoldenBoy promotions have great faith in me, I plan to repay them with dazzling performances.”

Groves put in a superb performance last time out in April, becoming the first man to stop durable Ghanaian Charles Adamu with an impressive sixth round stoppage win that saw him claim the Commonwealth strap in just his ninth pro bout. However, his fight at the Mandalay Bay Resort will not be for that belt as he will instead take on Mexican Alfredo Contreras.

25 year-old Contreras has a winning record of 11-7-1 with 5 wins coming via knockout and has been in with a number of Stateside prospects such as Canadian champion David Lemieux and Anthony Dirrell. Though the fight will not be a defence of that belt, the Londoner insists he will still be treating it as such.

“We are taking this fight very seriously. American fights are the best in the world. No slip-ups can happen so I am in full training and treating this like a defence of my title.

"In your boxing career if you never face a battle-hardened, blood thirsty Mexican fighting for his family from a small ghetto in the homeland frankly you haven't lived!"

“An actual defence is most likely to happen in September. There are only whispers of hope that might be at the moment but as I said before I will take on all-comers!”

The Marquez v Diaz bill will be shown live on Sky Sports 1 from 2am.

George Groves claimed his first professional title in superb style on Saturday night, delivering a sensational performance to destroy Charles Adamu inside six rounds at the M.E.N. Arena in Manchester. Boxing in just his ninth professional bout, the Saint dropped the reigning champion a total of three times on his way to a dominant sixth round stoppage win that sees him crowned the Commonwealth Super-middleweight champion.

Adamu, who had previously been the distance with current WBC World Champion Carl Froch and had never been stopped, found himself on the canvas in the very first round after a venomous Groves right. Rising to his feet, Adamu was only met with further punishment as the Saint rained in combinations until the bell rang to save the Ghanaian.

Groves showed staggering poise and patience for a young pro in the following rounds, dominating the champion with jabs and neat footwork that made Adamu miss time and time again. Indeed, Groves appeared to better his opponent in every department, coming out on top in every exchange and even outmuscling the tough champion when he tried to haul the Hammermith man down in the 2nd.

Groves benefitted from this work in the fourth flooring Adamu twice in an excellent round. Starting sharply, Groves fired in crisp jabs that unsettled the champion before a short right hand dropped him as he came forward. Groves again took his time before firing in a series of body shots and then another set of mean right hands to send Adamu to the floor again. This time Groves did look for the finish, but Adamu showed his signature durability and held on to see out the round.

Groves continued to outclass his man in the fifth, dominating centre-ring and stalking Adamu whilst picking him off with his excellent jab. It was the sixth round that ultimately brought the stoppage though, with Groves again walking Adamu down and raining in hurtful rights. A series of exchanges culminated in an overhand right that staggered the Ghanaian and that was enough for referee Victor Loughlin to step in and call a halt to the one-sided contest.

It was a fine performance from the young Hammersmith fighter, who becomes the first man ever to stop Adamu and will no doubt have further cemented his standing as one of the hottest emerging talents in British boxing.

"I was totally comfortable," Groves told SkySports. "It was always my gameplan to try and be clean, keep my head as best as possible.

"I knew I could hurt him, although I shouldn't have got stuck in - I lost it a little bit with the hype of the crowd. I wanted to get the clean knockout but it was nice to stop him.

"That's what separates the best fighters in the world from the rest; you have to be patient, you can't make mistakes.

"I'm still learning of course and will make some mistakes but I tried to be patient and as clinical as possible."

Next up for the Saint may well be a clash with reigning British champion Paul Smith, a fight that he is eager to make.

"My next fight needs to be Paul Smith - because I'm gonna knock him out. I'm next in line, I can't see anyone in front of me."

George Groves will be fighting Charles Adamu for the Commonwealth Super-Middleweight title on April 3rd at the M.E.N. Arena in Manchester, fighting on David Haye's WBA World Heavyweight title show against John Ruiz.



Competing in just his ninth pro bout, The Saint will be challenging reigning champion Adamu from Ghana over 12 rounds in a mouthwatering clash. 32 year-old Adamu has fought the likes of Otis Grant, Vitali Tsypko and current WBC world champion Carl Froch and defeated Carl Dilks back in December to take the vacant crown.

There had been reports of a fight with Dilks, but Groves will instead be challenging for his first professional title against the experienced Adamu. A delighted Groves said "This is fantastic for me. The stuff I dream about."

"I'm so excited about this opportunity. I plan to take it with both hands.

"I'm going to smash Adamu all round the ring. I plan to stop him and do something that's never been done before."

For tickets, call 0844 847 8000 or click HERE

For those of you who can't make it to Manchester be sure to check out the Saint on Sky Box Office from 9pm - George will be the first live fight of the night!

George Groves stopped Bulgarian Grigor Sarohanian in the third round of their scheduled six round contest at the Brentwood Centre in Essex with a crippling left to the body. Displaying the skill and power that has made him one of the hottest properties in boxing today, Groves comfortably saw off the challenge of the aggressive and bigger Sarohanian.

It took the 'Saint' little time to find his range, dumping Sarohanian to the canvas with a superb right in the second round. The Bulgarian seemed badly shaken, his gumshield falling out as he clambered to his feet. The fight continued though, with Groves firmly on the front foot and it wasn’t long before another fine right sent Sarohanian to the floor again. The bell sounded for the end of the second though and that gave Sarohanian chance to regain his senses.

Groves started the third with trademark authority, working his classy jab to set up attacks before eventually landing a peach of a left to the body to fell Sarohanian for the final time.

Speaking after the fight, the 21 year-old revealed there had been some problems travelling to the venue, making preparations less than ideal.

“Well, London traffic let me down, it was a bit of a rush backstage but I managed to pull out a decent performance. Took me a round or so to really get into my stride and get doing the stuff I’d been doing in the gym but once that had happened I put him down in the second and finished him in the third, so I’m happy with that.”

It was a good workout for Groves and the heavier Sarohanian was a decent opponent considering the number of pull-outs for the fight.

“Yeah, he turned up overweight, so he was a bit of a lump when he came out. We knew he’d come out with his big bombs to start off, which is exactly what he did so it was about me getting past and doing the things I’m supposed to do with that type of opponent. It wasn’t perfect, I promised Adam it would be perfect but it wasn’t so I’ve got to hold my hands up there but we’ll go back, work on a few things and hopefully I can put in a faultless performance next time out.”