JAMES DEGALE wants to return to the ring in December after recovering from the shoulder injury that forced him to miss out on the World Boxing Super Series.
The super-middleweight edition of the eight-fighter competition began on Saturday when Callum Smith defeated Erik Skoglund, and DeGaleโs rivals George Groves and Chris Eubank Jnr will also have their quarter-finals in the coming month.
IBF champion DeGale remains widely thought of as the worldโs leading super-middleweight but, since drawing with Badou Jack in January, has undergone surgery on a torn rotator cuff on his right shoulder and also struggled with a nose injury.
โHopefully by the end of September Iโll be able to punch, by October Iโll be able to spar again, so Iโll be back (in) December,โ the 31-year-old told Press Association Sport.
โIt was serious surgery. Iโm just pleased that I can see the light at the end of the tunnel because (my shoulder) is getting better, itโs feeling looser, I can do a lot more stuff with it.
โItโs been a long road. Itโs horrible. More painful than any fight Iโve ever had. The (Rogelio) Medina fight and Badou Jack fight, I was boxing handicapped: 100 per cent Iโd have beaten Jack without it.
โMy nose as well: I had a deviated septum, where the cartilage has come over and I couldnโt breathe through my nose.
A post shared by James Degale (@jamesdegale1) on
โI got a call (for the WBSS) but I needed my operation. I couldnโt go in that competition like that, fighting handicapped.
โItโs a good tournament, thereโs a lot of good fighters in it, and I am a bit disappointed, but hopefully Iโll get the winner.โ
DeGale considers Smith and WBA champion Groves the competition favourites, and remains interested in what would be a highly sought-after rematch with the latter.
Hats off for this guy @CallumSmith23 who put on a great performance last night and who’s also a true sportsman. Sadly I fell short this time pic.twitter.com/qbnNtbg0r3
โ Erik Skoglund (@skoglund_erik) September 17, 2017
โGroves has been saying that after this tournament, if he comes through, he can retire,โ he said. โI think thatโs false. Itโs a big-money fight and he doesnโt like me. That fightโs always going to be there.
โI want the winner, and I think the winnerโs Groves or Smith. I want to box three times next year.
โThereโs a possibility of me going up (to light-heavyweight) just to fight (Jack), โcause I know he ainโt in my class.
โIโll get back to prove Iโm still the best super-middleweight in the country, and move forward.โ