Groves and DeGale’s Future Intertwined as Rivalry Escalates to World Stage

As George Groves prepares for the first defence of his British super-middleweight title on November 5 against Paul Smith, his bitter rival James DeGale will be hoping to get his career back on track after suffering his first defeat at the hands of the ‘Saint’.

The pair brought back memories of the classic Nigel Benn and Chris Eubank clashes when both fighters put their unbeaten records on the line to prove who was the best in Britain. With plenty of media hype and genuine bad blood between the duo, Groves may have prevailed, but DeGale is still confident that his plan of winning a world title in 2012 is still on track.

The 25-year-old has the opportunity to put his loss well and truly behind him when he takes on Piotr Wilczewski for the European super-middleweight title at the Echo Arena, Liverpool on October 15. While DeGale remains confident in his own ability he admits that he has not watched tapes of his Polish opponent in action.

“To be honest I haven’t really seen too much of him,” the Beijing Olympic gold medallist admitted.  “His record speaks for itself, only one loss, so he has been there and done it. He is tough and durable and he can box when he wants to so he won’t come to Liverpool and let go of his title easily.”

Despite this opportunity to claim another title, DeGale clearly still has the loss to Groves on his mind. The closely fought contest split opinions with many fans believing that DeGale had in fact slightly edged the 12 rounds and the fighter from Harlesden is still desperate to avenge his defeat.

“Straight after the fight I said let’s get it on but gorgeous George didn’t want it,” he revealed. “We are on a collision course again so hopefully he keeps on winning and picks up some titles. Then if I win the European, hopefully it will be sooner rather than later that we fight again. It’s the fight that everyone wants to see.”

Should Degale prevail against his vastly experienced and teak tough opponent then he hopes to earn a shot at a world title. Current WBO super-middleweight champion Robert Stieglitz faces Mikkel Kessler in November and the man known as ‘Chunky’ is hoping to face the winner for his first world belt.

“Frank [Warren] just mentioned Stieglitz against Kessler, so maybe I could face the winner of that.”

While Warren has long viewed DeGale as the future of British boxing, the promoter’s decision to sign Groves has meant that some of the spotlight has shifted to the unbeaten Londoner.

Some have questioned why Groves is taking on a man that was dismantled by Degale, who in turn, has managed to earn a European title shot off the back of a loss. However, Groves believes that the deal was already in place before he upset DeGale in May.

“I am pretty sure that deal was done before I even fought James as they were so confident that he was going to win that fight,” he claimed. “It’s humbling for me that after fighting at the 02 on a Frank Warren show that he identified my talent, my potential and hopefully my likeability as well. Hopefully I can appeal to the masses and get to the very top.”

The Hammersmith fighter is extremely confident of blasting his way past former British champion Smith, but clearly DeGale is still on the fighter’s mind.

“He [Smith] got annihilated last year by the guy that I beat up a couple of months ago so on paper it looks like a bit of a mismatch but I know that isn’t the case,” admitted Groves. “It will be an exciting fight and a good one for the fans. So it’s up to me to somehow beat him more impressively than when he was annihilated last year.”

When Groves and DeGale met it was meant to be the end of a long and bitter rivalry that went all the way back to their amateur days at Dale Youth. However, it seems the two are on a collision course to meet once again and this time round it could well see the pair squaring off with a world title up for grabs.

See James DeGale v Piotr Wilczewski for the European Super-Middleweight title and the WBO World Light-Heavyweight Championship between Nathan Cleverly and Tony Bellew on October 15th live from the Liverpool Echo Arena; then live from the Staples Centre in Los Angeles, the WBC World Light-Heavyweight title between the legendary Bernard Hopkins and Chad Dawson, live and exclusive on BoxNation on Sky platform Channel 456.

Tickets for the Liverpool Echo Arena, priced at £50, £100, £150 and £250, are available from:

Liverpool Echo Arena
Box Office: 0844 8000 400
www.echoarena.com

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