DeGale vs Sartison Being Explored By Frank Warren
By Terence Dooley
British tabloids The News of The World and The Star claim that Frank Warren is exploring the possibility of matching British super-middleweight champion James DeGale with WBA Regular 168lb title-holder Dimitri Sartison. DeGale, the 2008 Olympic Gold middleweight medalist, defeated Paul Smith in nine-rounds to capture the crown last December; Sartison claimed the Regular WBA title with a stoppage win over Stjepan Bozic in November 2009; he successfully defended the belt courtesy of a points win over Khoren Gevor last July.
British tabloids The News of The World and The Star claim that Frank Warren is exploring the possibility of matching British super-middleweight champion James DeGale with WBA Regular 168lb title-holder Dimitri Sartison on March 19. DeGale, the 2008 Olympic Gold middleweight medalist, defeated Paul Smith in nine-rounds to capture the crown last December; Sartison claimed the Regular WBA title with a stoppage win over Stjepan Bozic in November 2009; he successfully defended the belt courtesy of a points win over Khoren Gevor last July.
Sartison's sole defeat came when vying for the WBA title in 2008; Mikkel Kessler, coming off a points defeat to Joe Calzaghe, stepped it up in the final session to stop Dimitri with a minute left in the stanza. Andre Ward holds the WBA Super World super-middleweight world title, leaving Sartison, 27-1 (17), with the distinction of dominion over the rest of the world. The 30-year-old, though, is a big step up for DeGale, 9-0 (7) and the possibility of a voluntary defence against 'Chunky', the WBA International title-holder, also places question marks over a possible showdown between James and London rival George Groves, who is the mandatory challenger for the 24-year-old's Lonsdale belt.
Boxingscene have been informed that Warren is indeed exploring this option, amongst others, as he seeks to plot DeGale's next move.
