By Edward Chaykovsky
IBF super middleweight champion James DeGale (23-1-1, 14 KOs) is hoping to land a major fight in the summer and he's ready to get in the ring with the biggest names possible.
DeGale aims to fight at Emirates Stadium, home of his beloved Arsenal.
The opponents he's gunning for include IBF, IBO, WBA, WBC middleweight king Gennady Golovkin, undefeated Callum Smith, IBF, WBA, WBO light heavyweight champion Andre Ward and domestic rival George Groves.
All of DeGale's targets are already involved with opportunities.
Golovkin is in serious negotiations for a unification with WBO champion Billy Joe Saunders on June 10th in Kazakhstan. Smith is already scheduled to fight Anthony Dirrell for the vacant WBC world title, likely in May or June. Ward is contractually tied to a rematch with Sergey Kovalev, targeted for June 17 in Las Vegas. Groves is in line to fight for the vacant WBA super middleweight title.
Even if he doesn't secure his targets for the summer, he's willing to face any of them before the end of the year.
DeGale believes he is capable of getting down in weight to fight Golovkin at middleweight or in the alternative pack on some muscle to take on Ward at light heavyweight.
"Golovkin? I walk around less than a stone above the super middleweight limit and could easily go down to fight this great man for the middleweight title," DeGale told Daily Mail.
"Ward, like Golovkin, is among those quoted as the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world. It would be an honour to share a ring with him and just as I could go down for Gennady, I could go up to light heavy for Andre."
"The Groves fight is always there although my winning the world title, while he has failed three times to do that, kills him. But it is a big British fight in which I could wipe out the only defeat in my pro career."
DeGale has been out of the ring since January, when he got off the floor in the twelfth round to earn a draw with then WBC champion Badou Jack. DeGale suffered several injuries in the contest.
