Fourth time of asking for Saint George

GEORGE GROVES has got the monkey off his back, if not quite yet the chip off his shoulder. To the relief of all and sundry Saint George has finally won his world super-middleweight title, at the fourth attempt. When asked how his sixth-round knockout of Russia’s Fedor Chudinov would be greeted by his nemesis, Carl Froch, he said: ‘Probably by saying he would have done it better.’ In fact the Cobra, who defeated Groves in his first two title attempts, applauded his old rival from ringside. No doubt fretting he might fall short yet again, Groves was tense to begin with, but once the shackles of nerves came off he was devastating. First with precision counterpunching, then blitzing aggression, he stopped Chudinov in his tracks. The Russian, though not down, was Groves: blitzed Chudinov out on his feet when referee Steve Gray called a halt. Groves said: ‘I don’t know what to say. After all that went before I hadn’t allowed myself to think about what it would be like to be a world champion. ‘It was a terrific night for me and the feeling is fantastic. I am still only 29 and now have some bigger fights to come.’ A British blockbuster with another old foe, rival world champion James DeGale, looks likely. However, Chunky needs a shoulder operation which may keep him out of action until next year. Then he is due a mandatory defence of his IBF belt. That gives Groves time to consolidate his position as one of the leading supermiddleweights before a stadium fight with DeGale, whom he defeated in 2011.