James DeGale Vs Chris Eubank, JR – December 8th?
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By Tyler “The Miracle Man” White
It’s looking like a showdown between these two British fighters is likely to happen by the end of the year. All that’s left to happen is for the details to be finalised and the contracts to be signed and it looks like we’ll have another entertaining fight on our hands!
In what feels like ages ago now, James DeGale lost to George Groves via a majority decision for both the British and Commonwealth titles.
That was 7 years ago and just goes to show where DeGale is in his career now, he’s clearly heading towards the end of his time as a professional athlete.
Now then, he is looking to make a statement and possibly conclude his career with a solid performance against one of England’s most talked about fighters – Chris Eubank, JR.
At the end of 2011, a few months after DeGale narrowly lost to George Groves, Eubank, JR was making his professional debut and now, 7 years on, Eubank is looking to get his name high up in the rankings in an attempt to earn a World title shot with an organisation who are better recognised than the IBO!
If we’re honest, DeGale is probably one of Britain’s most underrated fighters.
He’s been both overlooked by his fellow countrymen at both amateur and professional level, despite actually being one of our most successful boxers.
DeGale, who is also known as “Chunky”, won a gold medal for team GB at the 2008 Olympics, before turning over and winning British, European and the IBF World title on 2 separate occasions.
All of this success however and DeGale has still unfortunately been overlooked and under appreciated…
Chris Eubank, JR. on the other hand has had a whirlwind of attention over the past few years, although not all of it positive!
Eubank, JR,’s fame and opportunity has arisen mainly due to the relevance of his last name in British sporting history.
His father, Chris Eubank, is somewhat of a national treasure due to his exciting fighting style, distinct accent and questionable dance moves (see videos on YouTube if you don’t know what I mean!).
When it comes to actually boxing within the squared circle however, JR. seems to have fallen short every time he’s tried to enter that World class level, losing to both Billy Joe Saunders and George Groves.
Therefore, a match-up between these two British fighters could be an interesting one…
Eubank, JR’s explosiveness and rapid fire combinations could overwhelm DeGale, but DeGale’s amateur pedigree and general skill in a boxing ring could quite easily frustrate JR. and his game plan, ruining his chance of getting into a rhythm and letting his hands go.
Whilst we wait for a date to be confirmed (December 8th is looking most likely), we can ponder how this fight will go down and who will come out on top.
Judging by both their previous fights and the timing of their respective careers, I can see an argument for both getting the win, however, I’ll go with Eubank, JR. on this occasion – as if he comes up short this time, I don’t think he’ll ever be able to operate at that top; world class level!
Not only will the younger man be fighting to win and move up the rankings, he will be fighting for his career as he looks to get into contention for a major World title.
Check out Tyler “The Miracle Man” White who is part of a new podcast called “British Boxing Talk” on Apple Podcasts and Spotify</a