By Ian S Palmer
There’s a huge domestic clash in England this Saturday, Feb. 23rd as former IBO Super Middleweight Champion Chris Eubank Jr. Of Brighton will be trying to regain that vacant title against former IBF Champion James DeGale of London. The 12-round bout takes place at the 02 Arena in London and can be seen live in the USA on Showtime. Fans in the UK will need to fork over some cash as the bout’s on ITV Box Office. DeGale last fought in October when he stopped Fidel Munoz in the third round. Eubank also fought in October and stopped JJ McDonagh after three rounds.
Eubank lost his title in the semifinals of the World Boxing Super Series last February when he dropped a unanimous decision to George Groves in his third defence of the belt. The 29-year-old enters the ring at 27-2 with 21 Kos to his name. His best pro win so far was a unanimous decision over Arthur Abraham in July of 2017. The former IBO champ has good power and boxing skills, but they weren’t enough to beat Groves or Billy Joe Saunders in November of 2014 when Eubank lost a 12-round split decision to Saunders, the former WBO World Middleweight Champion.
Eubank enters the contest with 172 rounds of experience since turning pro in 2011. He’s also beaten Nick Blackwell, Dmitrii Chudinov, Gary O’Sullivan and Bradley Price. Eubank stands 5-feet-11-inches tall with a 72.5-inch. He’s often displayed impressive power up to now with a current knockout ratio of 72 per cent. He’s been wobbled and cut a couple of times in the ring, but also has a solid chin. Eubank’s at his best when he overwhelms his opponent with his relentless punching and is hard to keep at bay because of it.
However, he isn’t the hardest guy to hit if he gets goaded into a slugfest, but most boxers prefer not to go toe-to-toe with him. That being said, Saunders beat him by outboxing him in a close fight while the loss against Groves was more of a brawl. There’s been a lot of buildup and trash talking for this fight in the UK and it has the potential to be a barn burner.
DeGale lost his title to Caleb Truax by majority decision back in December of 2018, but won it back in their rematch four months later via unanimous decision. Before meeting Truax he attempted to take the WBC Super Middleweight Crown from Badou Jack, but had to settle for a 10-round draw. His record now stands at 25-2-1 with 15 Kos under his belt. The 33-year-old DeGale originally won the vacant IBF title in May of 2015 when he beat Andre Dirrell by unanimous decision and then defended it against Lucian Bute by unanimous decision in November of 2015.
DeGale’s a southpaw and former 2008 Olympic gold medalist who became the first boxer in British history to win both an Olympic gold medal as well as a pro world championship. He stands 6-feet tall with a 74-inch reach so has an inch height and 1.5-inch reach edge on Eubank. He’s fought 198 rounds since turning pro in 2009. His current knockout ratio is 54 per cent and he’s not known as a big puncher.
Other than facing Truax, Jack, Dirrell and Bute he’s also beaten the likes of Paul Smith, Marco Antonio Periban and Fulgencio Zuniga. His other defeat was a 12-round majority decision against fellow Englishman George Groves in May of 2011. DeGale’s a solid boxer with good speed, decent power and good chin and but needs to work hard every round to be successful.
Prediction…
Neither boxer has been at his best lately with Eubank losing to George Groves and DeGale being beaten by Caleb Truax. However, DeGale did regain his belt and also won a tuneup. Eubank has a lot to prove here if he wants to be taken seriously as a legitimate contender while DeGale’s on the downside of his career. Still, this has the potential to be another exciting all-British clash. This can go either way and a draw’s not out of the question either. But if Eubank uses his hand speed, mobility and crisp combination punching I think he’ll nick it.
