SHEFFIELD, England (AP) George Groves became a world boxing champion at his fourth attempt when he stopped Fedor Chudinov in the sixth round for the vacant WBA super middleweight belt on Saturday.
Chudinov had lost only once, and started better until he clashed heads, cutting Groves over his left eye. Groves rallied from there, a right hook starting a barrage in the sixth round which forced referee Steve Gray to stop the dazed Russian from continuing.
Chudinov's second straight loss, after a points loss to titleholder Felix Sturm last year, dropped his record to 14-2.
Groves, from London, improved to 26-3 (19 KOs).
Groves lost his three previous world titles fights to Carl Froch, twice, and Badou Jack. Groves took on new trainer Shane McGuigan and won four straight to get back into title contention.
