George Groves overcame his shattering defeat to Carl Froch by replaying the moment he was knocked out nine times the next morning.

Groves, who was floored in the eighth round against Froch in May, is hoping to lay the demons to rest when he fights Frenchman Christopher Rebrasse for the European super middleweight title on September 20.

The bout will also serve as a final WBC title eliminator but it has added importance for Groves, who is looking for rejuvenation after his loss to Froch in front of 80,000 fans at Wembley Stadium.

Groves watched the fight back three times that same night and trainer Paddy Fitzpatrick made his pupil go through it all again the following morning.

Fitzpatrick said: "I went over the next morning and we watched the fight again and then I took a gamble and rewound it - we watched it nine times and George looked at me as if to say 'all right'.

"I brought up as many emotions as I could so he could deal with them earlier."

Fitzpatrick continued: "I didn't just watch it nine times with my arms round him - we looked at it and asked why it happened.

"I wanted him to feel the emotion early and deal with it, like when you get a brown envelope through the door and you don't open it because you know it's bad news.

"You have to deal with it before you can move on."Groves spent the following week away in Dubai with his wife Sophie and says it was important to come to terms with the Froch defeat before considering his next move.

"I didn't realise Paddy was testing me but it was fine," Groves said.

"You can't talk about being a realist and then shy away from it. I didn't get angry, it was just frustrating. I was still pretty numb.

"I took time away and the rest of the week was difficult but by the time I got home I wanted to get back to work."

The animosity between Froch and Groves that drew so much attention in the build-up to both fights has not cooled over the past four months.

Froch unblocked his opponent on Twitter but otherwise there has been no contact between the pair, which leads Groves to believe there could be a third fight in the future.

"Carl doesn't like me and that's fine, he'll have a swipe at me at every moment," Groves said.

"He's certainly not satisfied after the last fight and I wonder why - if I knocked somebody out I'd be pretty satisfied with it. But he's not, he can't put it to bed.

"For that reason only, I think there might be a third fight because he doesn't like me.

"For whatever reason - perhaps he said more prayers than I did - he came out with two wins in a fight I said he couldn't win.

"I don't need to be Carl Froch's friend and I don't plan to be."

Groves also endures a frosty relationship with James DeGale after he inflicted the first loss of DeGale's professional career in 2011.

"Fighters don't like me and I think it's because if you watch me box, everyone thinks I'm s***," Groves said.

"And I'm happy to talk back to an opponent or a rival and pull them apart when sometimes boxing etiquette is to smile and nod along.

"I can be humble and I can be a realist and tell the truth - and I usually go out and deliver as well.  That's probably what upsets everyone."

The winner of Groves and Rebrasse will become the mandatory challenger to American Anthony Dirrell for the WBC super-middleweight world title.

Rebrasse has recorded 22 wins, two defeats and three draws in his career so far but the 32-year-old goes into the fight at Wembley Arena as underdog.

"He's a champion, he has a good track record and he has never been stopped," Groves said.

"He is coming as a European champion and he has dreams and ambitions and that makes him dangerous.

"I think I am better than him and I need to let him know that but I won’t be gung-ho, I won't go in swinging."

Groves added: ""For my own sanity rather than my reputation, I don't want to lose. I'm fully capable of winning and I will win."

Watch Geroge Groves take on Christopher Rebrasse live on Sky Sports 2 on Septempber 20 from 8pm