Fans witnessed a huge boxing upset last night as James DeGale lost his super-middleweight belt to big betting underdog Caleb Truax – a decent fighter who proved he is nobody’s tune-up or anything close to it.
Outworking the UK star, Truax hurt the southpaw known as “Chunky,” coming close to stopping him in the middle rounds of what was an action fight. With this defeat, though it is just the second of his pro career, DeGale faces an uncertain future; while DeGale’s earlier, pre-defeat claims that he is the best in the world at 168 and the pound-for-pound best boxer in his homeland now look quite foolish indeed.
And haven’t DeGale’s countrymen let him know it in no uncertain terms; DeGale’s rivals (or now former rivals) George Groves (who won a close decision over DeGale a few years back) and Chris Eubank Jr putting out somewhat venomous messages on social media.
Groves advised DeGale to call it a career, telling him how he doesn’t have it any longer. While Eubank hit DeGale with the ultimate low blow; telling him that he let all of British boxing down.
Can DeGale bounce back, or could he be close to the end at anything like elite level? No, two defeats ( and a draw, to Badou Jack, in a gruelling fight that could so easily have gone Jack’s way after the 12 hard rounds) do not signal the end for a fighter, but DeGale – who was last night having his first fight back after undergoing soldier surgery – has quite a bit of wear and tear on him.
A return bout with Truax is perhaps likely; certainly it’s a fight DeGale would want so as to gain revenge, but we will have to wait and see how soon it will be before DeGale feels he is ready to fight against (he said post-fight how he had rushed his ring retutn).
But the big-money all-British clashes with Groves (in a return of what was basically a nip and tuck fight that could have gone either way) and Eubank, and the winner of the ongoing WBSS tournament, look to have gone for good.
DeGale has never had things easy during his career, having to fight quite a bit whilst on the road. It’s a real shame that he had to lose at home last night.
What do you guys think – are Groves and Eubank out of line for saying what they said to DeGale, or are they merely being honest – brutally honest?