George Groves posts clip of himself punching for first time since injury
George Groves has begun punching for the first time since injuring his shoulder against Chris Eubank Jnr, with trainer Shane McGuigan revealing the WBA super-middleweight world champion is 'on schedule' to face Callum Smith in the final of the World Boxing Super Series in July.
Groves outpointed rival Eubank in February but his his place in the final was thrown into doubt after he dislocated his left shoulder in the 12th round at the Manchester Arena.
He was due to face Liverpool's Smith at the O2 Arena on June 2 but, after asking WBSS organisers to push back the final to July, the Saint underwent surgery to heal the injury.
George Groves has been videoed punching for the first time since his injury in February
In the Instagram clip, Groves then ducks under the left pad of his trainer McGuigan
The 30-year-old has now been in the gym for more than a week, lifting weights and shedding excess weight. But on Tuesday he was back punching for the first time and McGuigan recently detailed the timeframe for his comeback.
'He’s training twice a day, getting the weight down, we really need eight to 10 weeks to punch and we should have that. We’re looking at July 7 and July 14 – we’re waiting to hear back from the WBSS when they can secure a venue and secure TV,' he told Sportsmail last week.
'He’s seeing the physio all the time, he’s going for scans to see how the muscles are, how they’re firing up and it’s all looking on schedule. There was a minor operation but it went to plan and we are looking at early July and that gives us enough time to get sparring in, to get confidence back in the shoulder.
'You never really want to rush these things but we are in a bit of a timeframe with the WBSS and I want to keep momentum. At this stage of his career, if he sits on the couch for eight to 10 months he might not come back the same fighter so you have to keep active.
Groves injured his shoulder during his impressive win over rival Chris Eubank Jnr in February
Groves' next opponent is Callum Smith in the final of the World Boxing Super Series in July
'For us it’s just about keeping busy, he’s in the driving seat now, he’s the star of the division let’s be honest and I feel like we’ll get fully prepared for this one and then we just see what’s out there afterwards.'
The WBSS have yet to set a new date for the all-British encounter but Groves' hopes for an extension were arguably aided by an injury to cruiserweight finalist Oleksandr Usyk.
The Ukrainian was due to face Murat Gassiev on May 11 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. But he hurt his elbow in camp and McGuigan added: 'With Usyk-Gassiev being postponed, I’ve heard that will be in July so they’ll probably want to go back-to-back with those and we’ll have to work out what day (Groves-Smith) is.'
Victory over Smith could set Groves up for a rematch with long-time rival James DeGale, who recently regained his IBF title from Caleb Truax.