MANCHESTER, England -- George Groves may have beaten Chris Eubank Jr. by unanimous decision Saturday night, but his place in the World Boxing Super Series (WBSS) final is uncertain.
After earning scores of 117-112, 116-112 and 115-113 over his English rival in a second defense of his WBA world super middleweight title, Groves was taken to the hospital for scans on his left shoulder.
While he didn't confirm the full extent of his injury, Groves revealed to iFL TV that he plans to see a specialist on Feb.18 or 19 to assess "the most painful injury he's ever had" and how long exactly he will be out for.
Groves' team fear the titleholder might have dislocated the shoulder in the final round against Eubank.
Depending upon the severity of the injury, Groves might not be fit in time for the final, initially scheduled to take place at London's O2 Arena on June 2.
Groves' promoter Kalle Sauerland, who is co-founder of the WBSS, admits the tournament's final must take place by a certain date.
"We have scope of when the tournament must be completed," Sauerland said at a news conference.
"We will wait until Monday. With those sort of injuries, you can train very quickly again -- if it's a case of it just popping out. No one knows until it has been scanned."
Sauerland said that Eubank, despite losing to Groves, could find himself in the WBSS final if Groves is ruled out through injury.
"He will definitely be on the list," Sauerland said. "It's a decision that's taken by the [WBSS] Board. I will make my recommendations."
Groves' trainer Shane McGuigan said the injury is a worry.
"He suffered a shoulder injury in the last round, we don't know what that it is at the moment but hopefully he can box again soon," McGuigan said at a news conference.
"After a performance like that, he's the best super middleweight on the planet. We fulfilled the game plan to the T and executed it perfectly. We beat them on many different levels.
"It's a massive concern for the tournament. George Groves' health is paramount."
Eubank said he was affected by a cut above his right eye, which he felt was caused by a headbutt in the third round.
"I couldn't see out of my right eye for pretty much most of the fight and that affected my style," Eubank said. "I had to resort to loading up. Every time he moved to my right, I couldn't see him.
"George headbutted me a lot in that fight and I didn't know how he didn't have a point taken away from him."
Eubank, 28, failed to keep Groves under pressure and land consistently clean blows. Groves, 29, was more accurate and dictated large parts of the fight behind his jab, while holding Eubank when he tried to engage at close quarters.
England's Callum Smith and Germany's Juergen Braehmer meet next Saturday in the other semifinal. Groves had planned to be ringside in Germany for the fight.
