Smith beats Holzken to set up Groves bout

Callum Smith will square off against George Groves in an all-English World Boxing Super Series super middleweight final after a points win over Nieky Holzken.

Smith had been due to take on Juergen Braehmer in the semi-final in Nuremburg but the German withdrew through illness.

Holzken, 34, had won each of his 13 professional fights, but Smith took the win after a unanimous decision 118-110, 117-111 and 117-111.

Smith, 27, said he was disappointed he did not get to fight Braehmer - but added getting to the final was the main aim.

He said: "Did I underestimate him? Yeah, probably a little bit, but I said in the week the main job was to win and book my place into the final and I did that.

"It was a potential banana skin and it was about not slipping up and just boxing and sticking to the basics.

"The most important thing is I'm in the final."

Speaking after the bout, Holzken said: "I thought it would have been heavier, but he did a good job with his jab but I think I hit him the most with the power shots.

"You don't see him fight backwards a lot, normally he is the dominator. Today I was the dominator."

The super-middleweight competition's final is scheduled for London's O2 Arena in June with Groves suffering a shoulder injury in last Saturday's high-profile defeat of Chris Eubank Jnr.