George Groves is waiting to learn whether his World Boxing Super Series final against Callum Smith in Saudi Arabia will be staged outside at a stadium or inside an arena.
The WBA super-middleweight champion has been intensifying his preparations for facing Smith since confirmation of the Sept. 28 bout, which will take place at the King Abdullah Sports City complex in Jeddah. Groves has been passed fit to fight having recovered from a career-threatening dislocated shoulder. The original fight was due to take place at a UK venue in July but had to be postponed after Groves suffered the injury in the semifinal win against Chris Eubank Jr.
An operation, which included screws being inserted into his shoulder joint, and his subsequent rehabilitation program mean Groves has already returned to sparring and is convinced he will be fully fit come fight night having previously feared he faced retiring in his prime.
The lengthy wait for a fight date has worked in Groves’ favor, allowing the 30-year-old the recovery time he required. It has also allowed World Boxing Super Series (WBSS) chiefs the chance to recompense Saudi Arabia with a top-level fight after the Murat Gassiev vs. Oleksandr Usyk title bout was moved from Jeddah to Moscow.
Now all that is left for General Sports Authority and WBSS organizers to decide is whether or not the fight takes place under a roof.
“Neither of us would appreciate fighting outdoors in that heat and humidity but who knows?” said Groves in an interview with Arab News. “I’m pretty sure they’re (the tournament organizers) sensible. It’s a big stadium but there are indoor arenas attached. I can’t imagine they are looking at selling 70,000 tickets for this fight and doing it outside, so it’s most likely that it will be an indoor arena with some air conditioning.
“Otherwise, it’s no longer a fight is it? It’s something else. It’s an endurance challenge to see who wants it most.”
Groves last fought abroad almost three years ago when he lost to Badou Jack in Las Vegas, but he has no qualms heading over to the Middle East for the first time now the final has been rescheduled.
“It’s really hard to make a proper plan without a proper date,” he said. “It took them so much time because they were deciding whether to do it in the UK or Saudi Arabia. It worked out that there’s more incentives to have it abroad, and they’ve had to find a date in the calendar that doesn’t clash with other big fights.
“It wasn’t going to be the week before because they didn’t want to go head-to-head with Wembley Stadium (when Anthony Joshua fights Alexander Povetkin). It’s a date we can now work toward, put that stress behind us, and we’re good to go.
“Now we’ve got a proper date we can make a proper plan, so we’ve stepped the rehab up, and it’s good we know exactly what we’re working to. Fortunately they’ve come up with a September date, which works well for me, works well for Smith. He’s had a few niggles after his last fight in camp, so we now get the final everyone wants.”
Groves is trained by Shane McGuigan and they have already put in place some key parts of their preparations for fight week.
“I have some friends who have been out there for events and it’s not really a tourist destination, but luckily a good friend of mine is well connected out there, so our accommodation is sorted and we have our own gym sorted, so a few things that could be stressful have been eradicated,” Groves added in an interview with Sky Sports.
“Of course, no one knows if it will be busy or not or if there will be loads of British fans out there and we will wait to find out, but as long as I can get my team out there, everyone else can follow.
“We haven’t decided when we’re going out yet but everything is in place. The announcement gave us the full eight-week camp, which is what we usually have, and the shoulder is fine. Absolutely fine.”
Groves secured perhaps his most authoritative victory when, in February’s semifinal at the Manchester Arena, he earned a unanimous decision over Eubank Jr., his rival as the 168lbs WBSS’ biggest name.
The polished performance followed a stoppage of fellow Briton Jamie Cox in the quarter-final that also represented his first title defense, and the continuation of the momentum he had built when first becoming a champion by previously stopping Fedor Chudinov of Russia.
“I’ve had some great experiences in boxing, (the semifinal) was one of them, it wasn’t the best but it was a very good one,” he said.
“They were so excited to make me and Eubank Jr. — they made it and they announced it. Me and Smith have had injuries so they had to think about the date.
“The amount of recovery time between the semifinal and the final, it’s a case of the longer the better. But we’ve been in the gym training so it will feel like a long camp by the end of it. That was always going to be the case because we had spent so much time rehabilitating the shoulder but I’m still eight weeks out from the fight, feeling fresh. Weight’s good, mindset’s good and my body is conditioned now.
“The worrying thing when you have that much time out is you come back and it takes you six weeks to even pretend to feel like an athlete. That’s when your muscles take a while to respond to the work and you’re aching for days after the sessions. But we’re good to go. We are pushing it now with the sparring and it’s so far, so good.”
Groves’ wife Sophie this summer gave birth to their second son, Albie, but his fight preparations and rehabilitation means he has so far had little involvement in his care.
“My wife’s fantastic,” he said. “This is probably the hardest part for her and I feel for her. But she understands that I have to be selfish at times. When she has had no sleep, she has to get up to feed our two-year-old (Teddy) and leaves me in bed. I feel guilty, but I manage to sleep through that guilt.
“We’ve got good family support, so we’re OK.”
Fit-again George Groves relishing super fight in Jeddah
Fit-again George Groves relishing super fight in Jeddah

- Sept. fight will be held at King Abdullah Sports City
- 'Now we’ve got a proper date we can make a proper plan'
Al-Hilal defeat Pachuca 2-0, advance to Club World Cup knockout phase

Salem Al-Dawsari scored a fancy goal in the 22nd minute, Marcos Leonardo added a clincher in second-half stoppage time and Al-Hilal defeated CF Pachuca 2-0 on Thursday in Nashville to advance to the knockout stage of the FIFA Club World Cup.
Al-Hilal (1-0-2, 5 points), the most successful club in Saudi Arabia, did not take a loss in Group H play after drawing with Real Madrid and RB Salzburg. Their win vaulted them past Salzburg, who finished with four points after losing 3-0 to Real Madrid on Thursday night.
Yassine Bounou made two saves for Al-Hilal, who will face Group H winners Manchester City in the Round of 16 on Monday in Orlando. Meanwhile, Pachuca (0-3-0, 0 points) will return to Mexico without a point in the tournament.
For the opening goal, Salem Al-Dawsari received a pass over the top from Nasser Al-Dawsari (no relation) and popped a high-arching right-footed shot over Pachuca goalkeeper Sebastian Jurado. The shot bounced into the far corner of the goal.
After Bounou fell on top of a Pachuca chance in the 81st minute, Leonardo put the game out of reach with a goal assisted by Ruben Neves five minutes into second-half stoppage time.
Fritz wins twice in one day to step up Eastbourne title defense

- Top seeded Fritz prevailed against the world No. 46, winning 7-5, 4-6, 7-5 to book a semifinal date with Spain’s Alejandro Davidovich Fokina on Friday
- Alexandra Eala, a 20-year-old Filipino qualifier, won 6-1, 6-2 against Ukraine’s Dayana Yastremska to earn a semifinal against Varvara Gracheva
EASTBOURNE, southern England: Taylor Fritz enjoyed two wins in one day as the world NO. 5 beat Joao Fonseca and Marcos Giron on Thursday to move closer to a fourth Eastbourne title.
Fritz’s second round clash with rising Brazilian star Fonseca was suspended at one set all due to bad light on Wednesday.
Defending champion Fritz took the first set 6-3, but the 18-year-old Fonseca, ranked 57th, hit back to win the second 7-6 (7/5).
When play resumed on Thursday morning, Fritz won the deciding set 7-5 to reach the last eight.
The 27-year-old, who won the grass-court tournament in Stuttgart earlier in June, returned to court just hours later and was pushed to the brink by fellow American Giron.
Top seeded Fritz eventually prevailed against the world No. 46, winning 7-5, 4-6, 7-5 to book a semifinal date with Spain’s Alejandro Davidovich Fokina on Friday.
Davidovich Fokina, ranked 28th, beat Czech third seed Jakub Mensik 6-4, 7-5 in the quarter-finals.
The other semifinal pits French fourth seed Ugo Humbert against American world No. 149 Jenson Brooksby.
Humbert beat Billy Harris 7-6 (7/4), 6-1, while Brooksby, who entered the tournament as a ‘lucky loser’ after a withdrawal, defeated Dan Evans 6-2, 6-3.
In the women’s event at Devonshire Park, Australian teenager Maya Joint followed her shock second round victory over former US Open champion Emma Raducanu by reaching the semifinals with a 6-4, 7-5 win against Russian Anna Blinkova.
Joint, 19, will face 2021 French Open finalist Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, who beat fellow Russian Kamilla Rakhimova 6-2, 2-6, 6-0.
Alexandra Eala, a 20-year-old Filipino qualifier, won 6-1, 6-2 against Ukraine’s Dayana Yastremska to earn a semifinal against Varvara Gracheva.
World No. 74 Eala is an emerging talent on the WTA Tour, having made her breakthrough with a surprise run to the Miami Masters semifinals in March.
French qualifier Gracheva was given a walkover into the last four when Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova pulled out of their quarterfinal with a thigh injury.
Krejcikova, the world No. 17, is awaiting the outcome of a scan before deciding if she can defend her Wimbledon title next week.
“I’m very sorry to have to withdraw from my quarter-final today in Eastbourne as I’m having some soreness in my right thigh,” she said.
“Overnight it just didn’t get any better; it actually got worse. I think it’s better with Wimbledon in the next couple of days just to rest it and to see what’s going on and to resolve that.”
Manchester City thrash Juventus 5-2 in Group G finale

Jeremy Doku put on a brilliant display with plenty of support and some help from the opposition as Manchester City defeated Juventus 5-2 in the deciding match in the Club World Cup’s Group G on Thursday in Orlando.
“We played well. I’m happy with the victory,” Doku said. “Now we’re just curious to see who we’re going to play against.”
Manchester City later learned its Round of 16 foe will be Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal, with the match on Monday in Orlando.
Defender Pierre Kalulu’s gaffe on a cross from Savinho went past his own keeper and nudged City into the lead, 2-1, at the 26th minute. In the 52nd minute, striker Erling Haaland scored while shuffling his feet with a touch that bounded into an open net on a dish from Matheus Nunes. It was the 300th career goal combined for team and country for the 24-year-old Norwegian in only his seventh minute in Thursday’s match.
Phil Foden entered off the Manchester City bench in the 66th minute and tapped in his team’s fourth goal of the match three minutes later. Haaland’s 75th- minute header failed, only for Savinho to power a rebound off the crossbar and into goal to make it 5-1.
Juventus trimmed the deficit on an 84th-minute breakaway from Dusan Vlahovic, who scored for the second consecutive match.
With the teams effectively tied entering the match with two wins apiece, Man City leapt Juventus to the top of the table in a decisive victory that also bumped them to the top of the tournament with 13 goals. City (3-0-0, 9 points) became the only club to win all three matches in the group stage.
As the Group G winner, City will stay in Orlando to oppose Al Hilal, who beat Pachuca 2-0 later Thursday to finish second in Group H. Juventus (2-1-0, 6 points) are headed to Miami Gardens, Florida, as the runner-up in Group G. Their next matchup is Tuesday against Group H winner Real Madrid, who routed RB Salzburg on Thursday.
Man City went ahead 2-1 and held the margin at halftime, scoring first at the nine-minute mark when Doku hit the brakes in front of the net and found the top right corner.
Juventus’ Teun Koopmeiners evened the score two minutes later, but that was the final indication of a close tussle.
The victory was Man City’s first outright over Juventus since 1976.
Vinicius stars as Real Madrid ease into Club World Cup last 16

PHILADELPHIA: Vinicius Junior scored one goal and made another with a touch of class as Real Madrid sealed their place in the last 16 of the Club World Cup with a 3-0 win over Salzburg on Thursday.
The Brazil star opened the scoring after a superb defense-splitting pass by Jude Bellingham on 40 minutes and then set up Federico Valverde for the all-important second goal in first-half stoppage time.
Gonzalo Garcia wrapped up the win late on with his second goal of the tournament, and the result means Xabi Alonso’s team end the first round of FIFA’s new tournament unbeaten.
They go through to the knockout stage as Group H winners on seven points, setting up a last-16 tie against Juventus in Miami on Tuesday.
Salzburg go out as Al Hilal of Saudi Arabia progress in second place behind Real after defeating already eliminated Pachuca of Mexico 2-0 in Nashville.
They play Manchester City in the last 16.
Madrid are adjusting in the United States to life under new coach Alonso and were again without top scorer Kylian Mbappe, with the Frenchman thus far not having played at the Club World Cup as he recovers from illness.
But there was still plenty of star appeal for the 64,811 fans who filled Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia almost to capacity — they reserved their loudest cheers for Bellingham and spirits were not dampened by wet, fresh conditions as the blistering heatwave of recent days suddenly lifted.
Alonso opted, as during his time in charge of Bayer Leverkusen in Germany, for a back three with Aurelien Tchouameni in between Antonio Rudiger and Dean Huijsen. Trent Alexander-Arnold and Fran Garcia played as wing-backs.
Real won 5-1 when the teams met in the Champions League in January with Vinicius scoring twice, and the Brazilian was again heavily involved in putting the Austrian team to the sword here.
He was denied by goalkeeper Christian Zawieschitzky when clean through on 20 minutes, but made up for that by getting the breakthrough as the interval approached.
The goal owed much to a fantastic pass by Bellingham which found Vinicius in between the two Salzburg center-backs. He held off two chasing defenders and scored with an early left-foot shot low into the corner.
It was a 22nd goal of the season in all competitions and one that delighted those backing Real in the crowd.
Petar Ratkov had a chance for Salzburg after Arda Guler was dispossessed just outside his own area, but Real scored again to make it 2-0 almost on the half-time whistle.
When a rather aimless pass forward by Guler was deflected by Salzburg’s Mamady Diambou, Vinicius pounced on the loose ball and continued into the area before producing a clever back-heel to set up Valverde for the goal.
Salzburg now needed a favor from Al Hilal to stay in the competition although they did continue to make a fight of it and had chances to reduce the deficit in the second half.
Nevertheless they were picked off on the counter as Madrid got their third with six minutes of the 90 remaining.
A ball forward by Alexander-Arnold should have been cut out by Joane Gadou but the young defender’s touch was intercepted by Gonzalo Garcia and the young forward ran through before clipping a shot beyond the goalkeeper.
Coventry pauses 2036 Olympics hosting contest in 1st big decision of her IOC presidency

- India has been seen as gaining momentum in the 2036 race that involves at least 10 bidders in talks including Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia and Istanbul in Turkiye
- Olympic officials from LA met with Coventry’s board Wednesday and promised a “unity of effort” in the city where the Trump administration deployed military forces after street protests against immigration raids
LAUSANNE, Switzerland: India’s push toward winning the 2036 Olympics hosting contest seemed to stall a little on Thursday in the first big decision of Kirsty Coventry’s IOC presidency.
Coventry paused the fast tracking of a preferred bidder — a signature policy of her predecessor and mentor Thomas Bach — in a concession to International Olympic Committee members who have wanted more say in decisions under new leadership.
“Members want to be engaged more in the process” of picking Olympic hosts, Coventry acknowledged, citing “overwhelming support” at meetings this week to stop and review how it is done and when.
India has been seen as gaining momentum in the 2036 race that involves at least 10 bidders in talks including Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia and Istanbul in Turkiye.
In her third full day in office, Coventry promised to create two working groups — to look at how hosts are chosen, and a second analyzing how to “protect the female category” after controversy in women’s boxing at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
The two-time Olympic champion swimmer also restated a principled vision ahead of the 2028 Summer Games in the city of Los Angeles, which US President Donald Trump this month called “a trash heap.”
“We see the best of humanity, we see compassion for others” in Olympic values, Coventry said at a news conference after chairing her first executive board meeting over two days.
“If we can celebrate in the diversity that we are, and that we have, we can really work toward creating something great,” the former sports minister of Zimbabwe said, pledging to try to inspire young people.
Olympic officials from LA met with Coventry’s board Wednesday and promised a “unity of effort” in the city where the Trump administration deployed military forces after street protests against immigration raids.
“There is so much goodwill from all levels of government,” Coventry insisted, including federal.
“That gives us faith,” she said, that a platform for the Olympics “will be there for us to ensure that our values are stuck to but that our values will also be heard.”