By Shaun Brown
Promoter Eddie Hearn is keen on an April homecoming bout for his IBF super middleweight champion James DeGale.
It’s just over 10 days since the Londoner travelled to Quebec, Canada to defeat Lucian Bute on points to make a successful first defence of the title he won against Andre Dirrell back in May.
DeGale’s trainer, Jim McDonnell told Boxing Scene that his man has options to fight WBC champion Badou Jack in a unification or a second title defence against Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. in America in 2016.
“I’d love him to fight Jack or Chavez Jr.,” Hearn told Boxing Scene “but he’s also got a mandatory to take care of which is Jose Uzcategui (24-1, 20 KOs).
“And they [the IBF} made an exception [for James] to fight Bute but [Uzcategui] is also with Al Haymon, I believe, so there’s some manoeuvring to be done.
"I look at it from a promotional and profile point of view and I would like to see him have a homecoming fight in London. I think he deserves that, I think the fans want to see it.
“Boxing in America is fine but there’ll come a time you almost have to choose between the two. If you’re not staying active in the U.K. then you probably become a U.S. fighter.
“James has boxed there [in Canada] at 5.30am in the UK in his last fight. Same night as Tyson Fury so he probably hasn’t had the eyeballs on him he deserves. I would like to see his profile and him stay active in the U..K and that’s probably with an April fight and then towards a unification fight in the summer. Of course if the unification fight is there in the spring then we’ll grab that with both hands.”
Shaun Brown is Boxing Scene’s UK News Editor. Follow him on Twitter @sbrown2pt0 or contact him at sbrownboxing@gmail.com
