By Edward Chaykovsky
WBC super middleweight champion Carl Froch is wondering why James DeGale had no sense of urgency in his close points loss to domestic rival George Groves two weeks ago at the O2 Arena in London. The fight was very close and it appeared that Groves may have won many of the early rounds, but DeGale was not taking any risks in the championship rounds and for nearly the entire fight he was being cautious and allowing Groves to get off first.
After the fight was done, Groves unified the British and Commonwealth titles with a razor close twelve round majority decision, with scores of 115-115, 115-114 and 115-114. The only advice Froch can give DeGale, who suffered his first defeat as a pro, is to get a new trainer.
Froch told The Independent: “DeGale didn’t dominate as a champion should. He fought the wrong fight. Maybe this will be a reality check. I don’t really have any advice other than that he should change his trainer. He didn’t seem prepared right mentally. With a different trainer he might have gone in with a more positive attitude. Where was the fire in his belly?”