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James DeGale facing the end of the road against Caleb Truax
James DeGale has gone on record and claimed he will retire if he loses to Caleb Truax for the second time. The truth is, he probably didn’t need to say that. Because if he does indeed fail at the second attempt, there really will be nowhere else to go for the 32-year-old.
DeGale’s shock loss to Truax inside the Copper Box back in December ended his IBF super-middleweight title reign and heavily dented the possibility of ‘Chunky’ finding some more lucrative challenges in 2018.
The rematch happens this week in Vegas. DeGale is talking a big game about the ‘do or die’ aspect of the fight for him, but try as he might to make it seem like a self-imposed stipulation he really does have no other choice but to win his belt back or hang up the gloves.
“It’s harsh, but I think it’s true: If I can’t beat Truax, then I’m going to have to call it a day,” he said. “I know for a fact what I’ve got left.
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“I have had two hard fights in my life. But last time out I embarrassed myself; it was horrendous, shocking.
“But I have proved people wrong all my life and I am ready to do it again.”
DeGale is again the favourite with bookmakers and experts alike. It means we’ll have to take James’ word for it when he promises to approach it differently this time around.
“Truax is not on my level. It was one of the biggest upsets in boxing in the last 20 years,” DeGale said.
“I’m not going to make excuses about my shoulder and what went wrong.
“I’ve had a grey cloud above my head for the last couple of months, and it won’t go away until I’m a world champion again.”
DeGale’s outlook during media week has been refreshing and welcome, but much like David Haye as he approaches his opportunity for redemption against Tony Bellew, it’s not as if there’s any outlook he can adopt right now other than acquiescent.
“I would say 90 percent of the loss was because of what I didn’t do,” he explained. “I looked past him.
“I came back too quick from the injury, but he still had to get in there and take my belt. There’s no disrespect to Caleb Truax, but I’ve fought the very best of the division and come out on top. The real James DeGale will be back on Saturday.
“It’s going to be a dominant performance on Saturday. If I don’t beat Truax and beat him easily I can’t get to the level that I want. I know that’s what is coming. No excuses.”
It’s not often that a boxer is willing to admit that they’ve reached the end of the road. DeGale is staring that very thing in the face right now, at a time when the World Boxing Super Series and a wealth of up-and-coming talent are set to crank up the earning power of the weight class.
We’re about to gain our biggest insight yet into James DeGale’s character.
