Image Source- Daily MailBack in May of this year, a convincing beating of American fighter Brandon Gonzales in the 4th round of their 12 round bout put Olympic gold medallist James DeGale in the frame for an IBF world title fight with fellow British boxer Carl Froch.
Froch’s promoter Eddie Hearn stated that the fight was being seen as a world title ‘eliminator’ which should effectively leave DeGale being Froch’s next opponent. The Nottingham born fighter however has so far downplayed the prospect of fighting DeGale, stating that he sees headlining a Las Vegas event as the ideal way to bring the curtain down on his career.
A WBA super-middleweight title fight with Julio Cesar Chavez Jr is beckoning, but if Froch isn’t to get the fight he desires, then he has not rejected the idea of retiring with immediate effect. This highlights that he doesn’t see DeGale as a desirable prospect in any circumstances, regardless of him being a last option if the Chavez Jr negotiations are to fall through.
Froch is under threat of losing his IBF world title if he decides not to fight DeGale, but he already stated to the BBC that he was willing to vacate the belt in order of pushing on with negotiations with Chavez Jr, so his decision to avoid a fight with DeGale could not be disputed. If this is to be the case, then the Olympian would more than likely fight for the vacated title regardless.
From a financial standpoint, the prospective of fighting DeGale is not appealing for Froch. After headlining domestically on numerous occasions, Froch’s career ending in Vegas would be surely fitting of his accomplishments. In a career that has lead him to be a four time world champion in the super middleweight division, a fight against the inexperienced DeGale would not represent the quality of fight that is sure to encourage viewer-ship around the world.
George Groves, who was defeated in a rematch with Froch back in May, claimed that from a promoter’s perspective, DeGale has no value when it comes to a world title fight. Groves was convincingly defeated by Froch in their second bout, and Froch pointed to Groves’s victory over DeGale in 2011 as a reason why the latter is of no threat or interest to him.
DeGale’s hopes for the fight may rest whether another domestic world title fight could draw the same level attraction as the Froch and Groves clashes in Britain. In no way though has there been the same level of outcry for the fight, which is almost certainly going to make the contest a no go. A rematch with George Groves may be a more beneficial fight for DeGale as it would surely be a closer contest.