George Groves racked up his 18th career win with a second-round knockout of outclassed Baker Barakat in Germany.

London's unbeaten super-middleweight took the contest at short notice and kept his hand in with a routine dismantling of an opponent not at the same level.

The bell spared Barakat a first-round stoppage, but the referee stepped in after an early knockdown in the next to give Groves a second success in just three weeks as part of Eddie Hearn's Matchroom stable.

And the target now for the Commonwealth champion is a crack at WBO champion champion Robert Stieglitz who recaptured his title with a win on top of the Magdeburg bill.

"I just need to keep busy," Groves said. "The guy wasn't at the level that I'm used to but I put in a solid performance. I got some good stuff from the time I spent in the ring. I was supposed to fight Stieglitz but had to pull out through injury."

If Groves gets his wish, his first world title fight could come at his own headline show in September.

The 24-year-old's next fight will be on the undercard of Carl Froch's rematch with Mikkel Kessler on May 25.