Groves went straight to hospital after the fight and in his absence, trainer Shane McGuigan told the post-fight press conference: “It was about levels. George didn’t show everything he has got and he was too good in every department.”
He said Eubank “looked lost in there. He needs to go and reassess his career. He needs to go back to middleweight and rebuild.”
Promoter Nisse Sauerland admitted Groves’ shoulder injury was “a massive concern” with the final due to take place at London’s O2 Arena in June.
Callum Smith and Juergen Braehmer meet in the other semi final in Nuremberg on Saturday night.
Eubank actually felt he had done enough to reach the final, explaining afterwards: “I thought I pressured the whole fight,” but he was in a minority.
ITV had Groves winning even wider than the judges.
Groves built his points lead by standing off and jabbing, blocking Eubank’s leaping lead left hooks and tying him up on the inside.
Eubank looked short of ideas. He couldn’t out jab Groves, was reluctant to trade after being stung by right hands early on and when he jumped in during the third, heads clashed and Eubank ended up with a cut over his right eye.
Groves felt he should have had a knockdown late in the seventh – referee Michael Alexander ruled Eubank slipped – and Eubank was gulping in air in the 10thafter coming off second best in an exchange.
Eubank regrouped and produced a big push in the last two rounds, but it was too late.
Earlier, Tommy Langford kept his British middleweight title with victory over Jack Arnfield, making sure of a 116-112 (twice) and 117-113 verdict with a strong finish, and the judges couldn’t separate British featherweight champion Ryan Walsh and Isaac Lowe.
The fight was a matter of interpretation. Lowe was busier, Walsh had the heavier fists. Boxing Social asked several ringsiders their opinion and more had Walsh winning than his challenger, who was joined on his ring walk by Tyson Fury.
Derbyshire super-middleweight Zach Parker, mandatory for the British title vacated by Rocky Fielding earlier in the week, added to his growing reputation by whacking out Spaniard Adasat Rodriguez inside a couple of rounds.
The referee waved the fight off after the second knockdown.