Lucian Bute: record, next fight and profile →
James DeGale is determined to book a unification bout against WBC super-middleweight champion Badou Jack in 2016. The Londoner (21-1-KO14) won the IBF crown in May when he outpointed Andre Dirrell in Boston and is making his first defence on November 28 when he takes on former champion Lucien Bute in Quebec City.
LONDON - British middleweight champion Nick Blackwell says regular sparring sessions with IBF world super-middleweight champion James DeGale have more than prepared him for his November 14 title defence against Elliott Matthews and that there's nothing the unbeaten challenger can show him in Bristol that he won't have seen before. Blackwell meets Matthews, his third southpaw opponent on the trot, at the City Academy, but spars with DeGale, a world-class southpaw, have left him feeling buoyant about the task ahead.
James DeGale has compared challenger Lucian Bute to Jeff Lacy, believing the way Carl Froch exposed the Romanian-Canadian to be similar to the way Joe Calzaghe ruined the career of Lacy. DeGale makes the first defence of his IBF super-middleweight title against Bute in Quebec, Canada on November 28, three and a half-years after Bute lost the same title in five traumatic rounds to Froch in 2012.
Declan Taylor catches up Jim McDonnell, trainer of IBF super middleweight champion James DeGale, to discuss the upcoming fight with Canadian superstar Lucian Bute
Declan Taylor catches up IBF super middleweight champion James DeGale to discuss his first title defense against Canadian superstar Lucian Bute .
Declan Taylor catches up Canadian superstar Lucian Bute to discuss his upcoming showdown with IBF super middleweight champion James DeGale.
James DeGale is already targeting becoming the unified super-middleweight champion as he prepares for his first world-title defence against Lucian Bute on November 28. The IBF champion has taken the unusual step of conceding home advantage when defending his title - the fight is to take place in Quebec City, Canada. However, DeGale insists he is unconcerned about fighting in Bute's backyard because of a belief that he is just entering his peak, and is confident he can end the career of a fighter who was beaten inside five rounds by Carl Froch in 2012.
Declan Taylor catches the London press conference to announce the James DeGale's defense of the IBF super middleweight title against Canadian superstar Lucian Bute.
QUEBEC CITY, Canada -- Popular local favorite and former world champion Lucian Bute (32-2, 25 KOs), of Montreal, will try to recapture his world title belt against 2008 Olympic champion and reigning super middleweight world champion James DeGale (21-1, 14 KOs), of England, in the main event on SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING live on SHOWTIME, Saturday, November 28, at the Vidéotron Centre of Quebec City. This super boxing event, "The Reclamation," is co-promoted by Groupe Yvon Michel (GYM and Interbox, sponsored by Vidéotron and Mise-O-Jeu.
Carl Froch, the man who devastated Lucian Bute (32-2, 25KOs) in 2012 with a fifth round knockout, says his countryman James DeGale will not have an easy fight in front of him on November 28th in Quebec, Canada. DeGale (21-1, 14KOs), making his first defense of the IBF super middleweight crown that he captured in May with a victory over Andre Dirrell, will be faced with a very rabid army of fans cheering on the challenger.