James DeGale

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James DeGale
File:Jamesdegale.jpg
DeGale in 2011
Statistics
Real name James Frederick DeGale
Nickname(s) Chunky
Rated at Super-middleweight
Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)[1]
Reach 188 cm (74 in)
Born (1986-02-03) 3 February 1986 (age 38)[1]
Hammersmith, London,
England
Stance Southpaw
Boxing record
Total fights 23
Wins 22
Wins by KO 14
Losses 1

James Frederick DeGale, MBE (born 3 February 1986) is a British professional boxer and Olympic gold medalist. He is the current IBF super-middleweight champion, which makes him the first ever British boxer to have won both an Olympic Gold medal and a professional world title.

Background

DeGale started amateur boxing at the Trojan club at the age of 10 before moving to Dale Youth boxing club.[2] As a boy he soon acquired the nickname "Chunky",[3] a name that has followed him throughout his career. The predominantly southpaw Londoner fights as a switch hitter. At the Commonwealth Games 2006 he won Bronze when he lost to Jarrod Fletcher.

DeGale has stated on numerous occasions that he is a big Arsenal fan and frequently fights with the Arsenal FC Club logo on his robe and shorts.

His father is from the West Indian island of Grenada and his mother is white.

Amateur career

Amateur record: 79–16.

DeGale represented Great Britain at the 2008 Summer Olympics in the Middleweight boxing event, winning the gold medal. In the quarter finals he beat a former Olympic gold medalist from Athens (Bakhtiyar Artayev) and in the semi-final once again beat the late Irishman Darren Sutherland (prior to this latest meeting the boxers had fought five times with Sutherland winning four and DeGale only one). In the final DeGale won a scrappy and bad tempered affair against the Cuban Emilio Correa who was docked two points in the first round for biting DeGale's shoulder.[4]

World amateur championships results

2007 (as a middleweight)

Olympic results

2008

Professional career

On 2 December 2008, he agreed a deal with promoter Frank Warren to become professional along with Frankie Gavin and Billy Joe Saunders. The contract agreed is rumoured to be worth around £1.5 million.[5]

DeGale was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2009 New Year Honours.[6]

On 28 February 2009 DeGale made his professional debut against Georgia boxer Vepkhia Tchilaia, winning the fight on points 40–36. DeGale came in for a mixed reaction, being booed off after being taken the distance by his little-known opponent. However DeGale has been backed by many, as the Georgian was boxing extremely defensively.[7] Five more victories followed before DeGale won his first title, the WBA International super-middleweight title, defeating Sam Horton by 5th round TKO. On 18 September 2010, DeGale made the first defence of his WBA title against fellow Brit Carl Dilks, gaining victory by TKO after just 2 minutes and 54 seconds of the first round.

Frank Warren revealed that DeGale would challenge Paul Smith for the British super-middleweight title on Warren's blockbuster event in Liverpool, set for 11 December at the Echo Arena. The bill included fellow Olympians; Frankie Gavin and Billy Joe Saunders, Nathan Cleverly and Kell Brook. DeGale went on to beat Paul Smith via TKO in the ninth round. As a result of this, DeGale became British Super-Middlewight Champion.

On 21 May 2011, DeGale suffered the first loss of his professional career to fellow Dale Youth Boxing Club graduate George Groves. The judges scored the bout 115–115, 115–114, 115-114.

On 15 October 2011, DeGale beat Piotr Wilczewski by majority decision to win the European super-middleweight title in the Echo Arena Liverpool.

In February 2012 DeGale signed a sponsorship deal with Bulk Powders sport supplements.[8]

On 10 April 2014, DeGale signed a promotional deal with Matchroom Sport. DeGale made his first appearance under Matchroom on the undercard of the Carl Froch and George Groves rematch at Wembley Stadium on 31 May 2014. He stopped opponent Brandon Gonzáles in the 4th round.

On 23 May 2015, DeGale beat American boxer Andre Dirrell by unanimous decision to win the vacant IBF super-middleweight title.[9]

It was announced in mid-2015 that DeGale would take part in his first IBF super-middleweight title defence against Romanian fighter Lucian Bute. On 28 November 2015 in Quebec, Canada, DeGale defeated Bute via unanimous decision.

Professional boxing record

23 fights, 22 wins (14 knockouts), 1 loss[10]
No. Result Record Opponent Type Round, time Date Location Notes
24 N/A N/A Venezuela José Uzcátegui N/A – (12) N/A N/A Defending IBF super-middleweight title
23 Win 22–1 Romania Lucian Bute UD 12 28 Nov 2015 Canada Videotron Centre, Quebec City, Quebec, Canada Retained IBF super-middleweight title
22 Win 21–1 United States Andre Dirrell UD 12 23 May 2015 United States Agganis Arena, Boston, Massachusetts, United States Won vacant IBF super-middleweight title
21 Win 20–1 Mexico Marco Antonio Peribán TKO 3 (12), 0:30 22 Nov 2014 United Kingdom Echo Arena, Liverpool, England
20 Win 19–1 United States Brandon Gonzáles TKO 4 (12), 1:58 31 May 2014 United Kingdom Wembley Stadium, London, England IBF super-middleweight title eliminator
19 Win 18–1 Armenia Gevorg Khatchikian TKO 11 (12), 2:58 1 Mar 2014 United Kingdom City Academy Sports Centre, Bristol, England Retained WBC Silver super-middleweight title
18 Win 17–1 United States Dyah Davis UD 12 16 Nov 2013 United Kingdom Glow in Bluewater, Stone, England
17 Win 16–1 Croatia Stjepan Božić RTD 4 (12), 3:00 8 Jun 2013
16 Win 15–1 Canada Sébastien Demers KO 2 (8), 1:58 17 May 2013 Canada Hilton Lac Leamy, Gatineau, Quebec, Canada
15 Win 14–1 Colombia Fulgencio Zúñiga UD 12 8 Dec 2012 United Kingdom KC Sports Arena, Hull, England Won vacant WBC Silver super-middleweight title
14 Win 13–1 France Hadillah Mohoumadi UD 12 13 Oct 2012 United Kingdom Glow in Bluewater, Stone, England Retained European super-middleweight title
13 Win 12–1 Italy Cristian Sanavia TKO 4 (12), 2:58 21 Apr 2012 Denmark Arena Nord, Frederikshavn, Denmark
12 Win 11–1 Poland Piotr Wilczewski MD 12 15 Oct 2011 United Kingdom Echo Arena, Liverpool, England Won European super-middleweight title
11 Loss 10–1 United Kingdom George Groves MD 12 21 May 2011 United Kingdom The O2 Arena, London, England Lost British super-middleweight title
For Commonwealth super-middleweight title
10 Win 10–0 France Alpay Kobal TKO 5 (8), 1:37 12 Mar 2011 United Kingdom Braehead Arena, Glasgow, Scotland
9 Win 9–0 United Kingdom Paul Smith TKO 9 (12), 2:08 11 Dec 2010 United Kingdom Echo Arena, Liverpool, England Won British super-middleweight title
8 Win 8–0 United Kingdom Carl Dilks TKO 1 (10), 2:54 18 Sep 2010 United Kingdom LG Arena, Birmingham, England Retained WBA International super-middleweight title
7 Win 7–0 United Kingdom Sam Horton TKO 5 (12), 2:06 15 May 2010 United Kingdom Boleyn Ground, London, England Won WBA International super-middleweight title
6 Win 6–0 United Kingdom Matthew Barr TKO 2 (6), 1:38 13 Feb 2010 United Kingdom Wembley Arena, London, England
5 Win 5–0 United Kingdom Nathan King PTS 4 5 Dec 2009 United Kingdom Metro Radio Arena, Newcastle, England
4 Win 4–0 United Kingdom Ally Morrison TKO 3 (6), 0:45 30 Oct 2009 United Kingdom Echo Arena, Liverpool, England
3 Win 3–0 Republic of Ireland Ciaran Healy TKO 1 (4), 2:59 18 Jul 2009 United Kingdom MEN Arena, Manchester, England
2 Win 2–0 Czech Republic Jindrich Kubin TKO 1 (4), 2:22 15 May 2009 United Kingdom Odyssey Arena, Belfast, Northern Ireland
1 Win 1–0 Georgia (country) Vepkhia Tchilaia PTS 4 28 Feb 2009 United Kingdom National Indoor Arena, Birmingham, England Professional debut

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. Mathew,Syed."Dale Youth Boxing Club", The Times, 2005-10-07
  3. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. Superb DeGale lands boxing gold. BBC. 23 August 2008
  5. Lewis, Ron. "James DeGale's dream of double gold ends", The Times, 2008-12-03
  6. The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 58929. p. 15. 31 December 2008.
  7. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. http://www.bulkpowders.co.uk/blog/bulkpowders-james-degale-formalise-partnership/
  9. http://www.premierboxingchampions.com/news/james-degale-does-early-damage-win-over-andre-dirrell
  10. Professional boxing record for James DeGale from BoxRec

External links

Achievements
Preceded by British super-middleweight champion
12 November 2010 – 21 May 2011
Succeeded by
George Groves
Preceded by EBU super-middleweight champion
15 October 2011 – 18 December 2012
Vacated
Vacant
Title next held by
Christopher Rebrasse
Vacant
Title last held by
Adonis Stevenson
WBC super-middleweight champion
Silver title

8 December 2012 - 2014
Vacant
Title next held by
George Groves
Vacant
Title last held by
Carl Froch
IBF super-middleweight champion
23 May 2015 – present
Incumbent