As James DeGale nursed his bruised face with an ice-pack, he was not thinking about the 12 rounds he had just done with Rogelio “Porky” Medina but the upcoming unification bout with Badou Jack. The question on the mind of the IBF super-middleweight champion was whether he would prefer to have home advantage against the WBC champion in London, or whether to follow his dreams and face him in Las Vegas.
DeGale and Jack will meet in September after both held on to their titles on the same bill in Washington yesterday in less than ideal circumstances. DeGale won comfortably, but failed to deliver the stoppage he promised, while Jack, a Swede who lives in Las Vegas, was only awarded a draw against Lucian Bute, a decision that left Floyd Mayweather, his promoter, fuming.
“The main thing is I am still the champ. I’m still learning, but ‘Porky’ Medina shouldn’t be lasting with me
DeGale was booed after his win, more a result of his taunting of Medina than any questioning of his dominance. He had at times looked brilliant, picking angles and punches to perfection, as was shown with a remarkable 66 per cent success rate with his power shots. But he failed to completely quell the Mexican’s ambition, as he backed into the ropes and let Medina swing at him. It meant that he had the bumps to prove he had been in a tough fight.
“I’m very disappointed in myself,” DeGale said. “My last two fights were with skilled, elite fighters and then to go 12 rounds with him. I’ve watched a lot of his fights, the guy kept coming with a good engine, I don’t know where he got that from. He’s tough, durable.
“But the main thing is I am still the champ. I’m still learning, but ‘Porky’ Medina shouldn’t be lasting with me. He wasn’t near me. I’m the best 168 [pound] fighter out there.”
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The bout with Jack is easy to make, as both have deals with Al Haymon, the secretive American dealmaker who masterminded Mayweather’s career. Eddie Hearn, DeGale’s UK promoter, had talks in Washington with Leonard Ellerbe, Mayweather’s right-hand man, about a series of matches between their camps. This could be the first.
One problem for Hearn in making a DeGale bout is Callum Smith, the Liverpudlian he promotes who is the mandatory challenger for Jack. The rules allow Smith to be made to wait, but Hearn would not want him to miss out.
DeGale is not keen to face Smith either, but not because he thinks he could lose. One of DeGale’s closest friends is Callum’s older brother, Stephen, who was a team-mate on the Great Britain squad. DeGale describes his win over the eldest Smith, Paul, in 2010, as “the worst moment” of his career.
If both of them keep winning, a DeGale-Smith meeting is inevitable, but a shot at revenge against his bitter rival, George Groves, would be even more lucrative for DeGale if Groves can beat Martin Murray on June 25.
Hughie Fury, the heavyweight cousin of Tyson, remained unbeaten but did little to build much hype after a technical points decision over Fred Kassi, of Cameroon, at London’s Copper Box.