CHRIS EUBANK JR will fight James DeGale on February 23 at the O2 in London.
It will be broadcast on ITV Box Office.
This match-up has been brewing for a long time. After a series of run-ins over the years, from sparring one another in the gym to trading verbal barbs across social media, the two will collide in a super-middleweight contest.
DeGale is a former super-middleweight champion. He lost his IBF world title to Caleb Truax in 2017 but recaptured it in a rematch last year. He vacated it though as he targeted this all British grudge match, tuning up with a three round win over Fidel Monterrosa Munoz in California last September.
Eubank Jnr has a lot to prove. George Groves exposed him with a clear victory in Manchester in February of last year. He came back to beat JJ McDonagh in Jeddah, a dissatisfying victory after McDonagh retired suffering an injury.
This will be DeGale’s first fight with a fellow countryman since his loss to George Groves in 2011. A showdown with Carl Froch eluded him but now he wants to take on his British rivals. “Benn and Eubank they had those classics and everyone talks about it to this day. That’s what I need,” DeGale has told Boxing News. “They’re the fights I want, the domestic grudge matches, that everyone buys into, that everyone wants to see. They’re the ones.”
Defeat to DeGale would end Eubank’s aspirations to compete at top level. Equally a loss for the Londoner would usher DeGale a step closer towards retirement. The stakes are high. Neither can afford to lose.
