DeGale v Eubank Jr: It’s a No From Me

DeGale v Eubank Jr: It’s a No From Me

By Dean Wigzell 

So James DeGale v Chris Eubank Jr has finally been signed, I say finally like it’s a fight that I have been waiting for! Just to be clear, I haven’t.

It’s being billed as ‘last chance saloon’ for both fighters, the gateway to those elusive big fights but in my opinion even that is pushing it. DeGale has made it clear he is looking for a final flurry of cash and I’m truly at a loss as to where Eubank goes after this one, win or lose.

Eubank said in the press conference this week that

‘This fight has been four or five years in the making’.

He’s wrong, it’s a fight that both fighters have always known was an option should they need to fall back on the words they have exchanged over the years. There’s been a particular focus on an apparent schooling by Eubank of DeGale in sparring back in 2012, which of course is flatly denied by DeGale’s camp.

A few years ago this fight would’ve certainly whet the appetite, an Olympic Gold medallist come World Champion taking on one of the most talked about prospects in British Boxing, but hindsight is a strange thing and even those descriptions don’t tell the full story.

When DeGale won is IBF super middleweight title back in 2015, it really should’ve been the start of an exciting period in his career.

He had so much going for him, an excellent fighter in an always exciting division- both domestically and internationally, the first Brit to win Olympic Gold and become a world champion but ultimately his reign as champion was a disappointing one.

There has always been a question mark hanging over DeGale’s motivation and discipline for me, particularly after I came across him hammered in a Central London sandwich shop (the one Anthony Ogogo loves!). But personal experiences aside, the way he has bounced around from promoter to promoter since escaping the Bluewater Shopping Centre days with Mick Hennessy has only made it harder to pinpoint exactly what direction he wanted to take.

He began referring to himself as the ‘Road Warrior’ as he celebrated the fact he was willing to go abroad and take fights, but in all honesty that should’ve told him all he needed to know about where his career was headed, he was fast becoming irrelevant on home soil and people were losing interest. It’s always frustrating to see a British fighter disappear off of the radar because they have been shifted stateside, particularly when it’s their home fans who suffer.

Much of that can also be carried over to Eubank Jr, a fighter of apparent potential who probably hasn’t lived up to his billing.

The first time I saw him fight in the flesh, at the Copperbox in 2014 I was in awe of the way he dispatched his Hungarian opponent, if not slightly perturbed by his willingness to replicate his dad’s in the ring antics.

The next time I saw him live was in that much talked about showdown with Billy Joe Saunders. At the time the possibility that Eubank froze due to a lack of big fight experience was floated by many, but it could be argued that since that night he has consistently frozen when the size of the stage increases, his huge IBO title fight against that bloke from Australia aside.

The brilliant World Boxing Super Series was a huge opportunity for Eubank to truly announce his arrival at the top table but once again he fell short against the far superior George Groves, in fact he offered very little.

As the comparative points continue to mount up, Eubank has also jumped on the promoter roundabout (Hennessy, Warren, Hearn, Hennessy, Hearn, Warren and so on) and seemingly has landed with Poxon Sports, who until this fight was announced hadn’t used their social media profiles since April 2018. I’m assuming they’ve just been really busy getting this fight sorted!

Beyond this fight, where does Eubank go next?

Domestically the fighters with the sort of status he believes he can attract are far too busy frying much bigger fish. Callum Smith for example is currently lining up his first defence of his WBA super title and is looking at the likes of Canelo and Golovkin.

George Groves remains undecided on whether he will return to the ring and even if he does there will be no value in fighting Eubank again.

Rocky Fielding? After his big pay out against Canelo he’d probably bring a boosted if not slightly maligned profile to the table.

Which leaves Billy Joe Saunders either back down at middleweight or up at super middle, and even that isn’t a fight we are likely to see anytime soon if at all.

Strangely, the super middleweight division which is usually can always be relied on to throw up some mouth-watering world level fights is going through a bit of a transitional period with the likes of Abraham, Groves et al on the way out. So that leaves very little in the way of names which Eubank will believe are worthy of sharing a ring with him.

Add to all of this the issue with the fight being on ITV Box Office. A channel which has made a commitment to delivering big time boxing and yet is unwilling to make it prime time viewing available to all. Two fighters, one crossroads, no titles and I’m sure a lot of impending hype work makes this fight Pay-Per-View worthy apparently.

ITV Box Office is a model/platform which is yet to gain the trust of British fight fans and whilst those in charge may believe this to be a big fight many across the country will see right through the puff. I’m sure many dodgy streams may be tapped into on the night I truly can’t see many parting with their hard earned money just to line the pockets of two fighters who have let their public down on several counts.