JAMES DEGALE makes the first defence of his IBF super-middleweight title on Saturday (November 28) against Lucien Bute in Quebec, Canada. If, as expected, DeGale prevails, heโs looking forward to a big year in 2016.
โA massive year, there are some big names in the division. Badou Jack [the WBC champion] is the one I want, in Vegas,โ James said. โItโs about unifying titles, he beat George Groves [DeGaleโs rival, who holds a win over him], plus itโs in Las Vegas, one of my dreams. Imagine boxing in the MGM, in front of how many thousand, unifying titles. Itโs a dream, he beat Groves, plus I get paid for it so itโs all good.โ
Heโs confident that it can happen. โ[Al Haymon] gives me three opponents and I tell [him who I want to fight]. Iโm in such a good position. When I hear fighters thank Al Haymon [I know why]. Iโm going to be thanking Al Haymon, trust me. Itโs not just that he pays you well, heโs a very, very nice humble intelligent man and all he cares about is his fighters,โ James said.
Heโs targeting next summer for his major fight. โThis is why Iโm so easy to work with because Iโm willing to fight anyone. If they say [Gennady] Golovkin, why not?โ he said. โIโd rather he came up to super-middle, I donโt think heโs big, heโs five foot eight. He hits extremely hard, he cuts off the ring very well. But Iโm telling you, he got beaten before in the amateurs. He got Olympic silver…ย Trust me, heโs beatable.โ
He would be willing to shed a few pounds to make that fight at a catchweight. He reckons he could make 164lbs. โAs an amateur I made 75 kilos on the morning of the [bout],โ James noted.
An appealing fight for a British audience would be Chris Eubank Jnr. โFor a big stadium fight,โ DeGale mused. โHe carries that name, obviously, Eubank. Youโve see it helps him a lot along the way because he [Chris Snr] is always there, giving his bit. If he carries on winning and carries on looking good and people want to see the fight, why not? If he wins a world title, he comes up in weight, itโs catchweight or whatever and it sells, letโs do it. It could well sell.
โBut Iโm not too sure if heโs going to get past Gary OโSullivan, Iโve heard heโs looking really good and heโs a good fighter. Billy Joe Saunders rates him so weโll see.โ