Groves receives Award

British and Commonwealth Super-Middleweight Champion George Groves has been nominated the Best Young Boxer of the Year by the prestigious Boxing Writers' Club for 2011. The 23-year-old from Hammersmith won the Lonsdale belt from James DeGale in a close contest in May at London's O2 Arena. A delighted Groves said, "I am chuffed to have been voted Young Boxer of the Year. There are a lot of talented fighters in the UK at the moment and to just be considered for this fantastic award is fantastic. I thank everyone who has voted for me and my team who have helped guide me through a testing year." Unbeaten Groves will have his first fight for promoter Frank Warren on November 5th at the Wembley Arena when he defends his titles against former British Champion Paul Smith, exclusively live on BoxNation on Sky platform Channel 456. Groves is the seventeenth boxer promoted by Warren to have won the award, following last year's winner Nathan Cleverly, now the WBO World Light-Heavyweight Champion. Warren said, "It's fantastic news that George has been awarded the Best Young Boxer of the Year award. He's got a big fight coming up against Paul Smith on November 5th in London that will be shown live on BoxNation." Adam Booth, Groves' manager, said, "Many thanks to the Boxing Writers' Club. Our aim is to do this award justice by turning this young boxer into a world champion."

Bjorn again in August

Thomas Björn has been named The 2011 Race to Dubai European Tour Golfer of the Month for August following his epic five-man sudden-death play-off victory in the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles. The 40 year old Dane, who receives an engraved alms dish and a jeroboam of Moët & Chandon champagne for winning Golfer of the Month, claimed his 12th European Tour victory in thrilling fashion as he collected his second trophy of the season following the Commercialbank Qatar Masters presented by Dolphin Energy. Björn overcame Bernd Wiesberger, Pablo Larrazabal, Mark Foster and then, finally, George Coetzee with scores of par-par-birdie-birdie-birdie at the formidable par five 18th hole of the PGA Centenary Course at Gleneagles to claim an unforgettable victory. Björn’s third win of the season at the Omega European Masters – just seven days after his play-off epic in Scotland – will make him a serious contender for September’s Golfer of the Month competition, but it was that stunning play-off win at Gleneagles alone that secured him the August award. “The Race to Dubai Golfer of the Month Award is a very nice to way to have your level of performance recognised. It is a reward for all the hard work that I put in to get back to winning ways again. “It’s been a long time since I won one of these awards and it’s nice to be chosen by the judging panel. Sometimes it’s a struggle to stay focussed the week after winning, and in my first round at Crans I was two over par after the first four holes. However, I finished the day strongly and improved with each round. Not many people win back-to-back so it was a really enjoyable experience.” While Björn was the unanimous choice for the August Award, the judging panel – which comprised members of the Association of Golf Writers as well as commentators from radio and television – also recognised the outstanding performances of several European Tour Members for their exploits around the world.Björn’s countryman Anders Hansen continued his formidable form with a career-best third place finish at the final Major of the year, the US PGA Championship; Oliver Fisher secured his long-awaited maiden victory at the Czech Open and Luke Donald continued the path of sustained excellence that has enabled him to establish himself as the World Number One by finishing tied second at the WGC – Bridgestone Invitational and then tied eighth at the US PGA. Björn joins an illustrious list of Race to Dubai Golfer of the Month winners in 2011, following Martin Kaymer (January), Donald (February and May), Paul Lawrie (March), Charl Schwartzel (April), Rory McIlroy (June) and Darren Clarke (July). Björn will now join his fellow award winners to be considered for The 2011 Race to Dubai European Tour Golfer of the Year Award, which was won jointly by Graeme McDowell and Kaymer in 2010.

DeGale chief support in Liverpool

James DeGale's challenge for the European Super-Middleweight title will be chief support to the explosive showdown between Nathan Cleverly and Tony Bellew at the Liverpool Echo Arena. The former British champion gets straight back into title contention against the reigning champion Piotr Wilczewski from Roztocznik in Poland on Saturday 15th October. Promoter Frank Warren confirmed the addition today at a press conference in London today. DeGale, who won the British title in Liverpool when he beat Paul Smith, said, "I'm looking forward to returning to Liverpool to fight for the European title in what will be a good fight for the fans," "I had a great win there when I beat Paul Smith in December to claim the British title and although he was the local favourite then, I hope the fans will come out and support me," "Piotr is a good tough champion and he looks like a right handful, this is really tough fight for me and I'm expecting him to bring the best out in me on the night," "It's fantastic that I'm challenging for the European title in my first fight back and I'm going to take the title." A further title fight on the card sees 2008 Olympian and unbeaten pro Billy Joe Saunders challenge for the first title of his career when he takes on Southern Area Middleweight Champion Gary Bouldon for his title. An action packed undercard features Liverpool's former British Super-Middleweight Champion Paul Smith; unbeaten Liverpool prospects Joe Selkirk, Rocky Fielding and Liam Smith, Ellesmere Port's unbeaten talent Paul Butler; sensational prospet Ronnie Heffron from Oldham; Welsh stars Craig Evans and Tobias Webb; plus the highly anticipated professional debut of Hyde cruiserweight Danny "Boom Boom" Benson