George Groves has revealed he battled through the pain to win his first world title after suffering a broken jaw in his victory over Fedor Chudinov on Saturday.
The 29-year-old, who had failed on his three previous occasions to win a world title, claimed the WBA 'super' super-middleweight strap with a sixth-round stoppage of Chudinov.
But it was not all plain sailing for Groves, with the Hammersmith fighter sustaining a broken jaw in the third round of the bout at Bramall Lane.
Groves confirmed he will undergo surgery on his jaw on Thursday and did not specify on the length of time he expects to be on the sidlelines. It turns out I only went and broke my jaw in the 3rd round on Saturday, that or broke it from over smiling since! #WorthIt," Groves tweeted from his official Twitter account.
The injury is likely to delay Groves making his first defence of his WBA title, although speculation of a rematch with long-time rival and IBF world champion James DeGale is likely to intensify.
Groves remains the only fighter to have defeated DeGale, having claimed a majority decision victory over the 31-year-old in May 2011.
