The WBC has rejected an appeal from George Groves who had argued that the super-middleweight contest between Callum Smith and Hadillah Mohoumadi should not have been made a final eliminator.
It was recently announced that Smith and European champion Mohoumadi would meet in Liverpool on April 2, with the winner progressing towards a world title shot against Badou Jack.
Groves, who lost to Jack in September but remains ranked at number two with the governing body, had claimed that a final eliminator should not be staged between fighters ranked in first and sixth position in the ratings, but the appeal has been turned down.
The Londoner has been linked with a domestic clash with Martin Murray, who is placed at nine with the WBC, but both men could now target a different route towards a world crown.
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