What 2016 holds for James 'Chunk' DeGale

James 'Chunky' DeGale was regarded as one of the most talented fighters of his generation when he won gold at Beijing for team Great Britain. However his career took a turn for the worst when he lost to George Groves on points back in 2011. Now, after winning a world title in 2015, I want to take a look at what potentially lies in store for the IBF super-middleweight champion in 2016.

The cocky fighter from West London hit the world stage when he beat Andre Dirrell back in May 2015 to win the IBF super-middleweight title. This was by far the most impressive performance of his career which he then backed up by beating Lucian Bute on points in his own back yard in Canada.

With Andre Ward having not fought in three and a half years and Carl Froch's retirement in 2014, the super-middleweight division is wide open at the moment. Arthur Abraham, the WBO champion, and Badou Jack, the WBC champion, pose the biggest threats to DeGale at this moment in time, however he certainly has the ability to fill the void left by Ward and Froch.

DeGale's next fight is expected to be José Uzcátegui, who is mandatory for the IBF title after beating Julius Jackson in a title eliminator, and he should come through this quite comfortably but DeGale in his last two fights has had a tendency to go to sleep when he gets ahead which is something he and trainer Jim McDonnell will need to work on.

Badou Jack's name has been bounded about with DeGale's since he beat George Groves back in September and this is a huge fight where DeGale has the chance to cement himself as the best fighter at the 168 pound limit. I believe that DeGale wins this fight, even though Jack is one of the most underrated fighters in the division, DeGale's timing, speed and punching power should prove too much for the WBC champion.

With that fight thought to be taking place in September time, the fight that all boxing fans, especially in the UK, have been screaming out for is a rematch with arch nemesis, George Groves, who is coming off his third world title defeat, as mentioned above, against Badou Jack. There is no doubt that DeGale is desperate for this fight, having lost to Groves in 2011, however Groves will need to prove himself that he is ready for another world title shot before he fights DeGale. This is the biggest fight out there, the two genuinely despise each other and it has the potential to be an absolute classic.(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dY476S2Ap_w)

DeGale is one of the most talented fighters that the UK has produced in recent times. With the super-middleweight division being more weak than it has been in recent years, DeGale has an unbelievable opportunity to unify the belts in the latter half of this year. After that fans will hopefully see the domestic bust up we have all been waiting for with DeGale fighting Groves in the early half of 2017. Groves has beaten DeGale twice, once in the amateurs and once in the professionals, but DeGale has come on leaps and bounds since 2011 so to pick a winner is nigh-on impossible however there is no doubt that the rivalry is yet to be settled and a fight between the two will take place.

Tom Eckett

@boxingguru44

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