Caleb Truax, before Saturday night’s victory, was deemed as the right kind of opponent for James DeGale, at the right time. Not necessarily an easy fight, but at a level for DeGale who was returning to the ring after a considerable absence. And significant injury problems.
Truax was not quite at the level of being a world champion. Or so it was mused. Now though; he is. The 34-year-old from Minnesota is now the IBF Super Middleweight title holder. And DeGale now has a lot of thinking to do. This was not how his homecoming – his first fight in Britain in three years – was supposed to pan out.
A motivator for DeGale - to overcome his significant shoulder injury, to return and fight in England - was the hunger for revenge. DeGale has lost twice to George Groves. As an amateur and on the professional circuit. The latter defeat is what rankled, a points defeat six years ago. Now whether he will even get an opportunity to fight Groves is in question.
The Dale Youth Boxing Club in West London, is where the rivalry between the pair was fostered. In the build up to Saturday night, De Gale said that Groves is “jealous, he hates what I’ve achieved. He thinks I’m no good, but my resume speaks for itself.”
Well, when Groves picked up his smart phone on Saturday night after the judges’ score cards were read out, a feeling of satisfaction, certainly must have settled in. 114-114, 115-112 and 116-112 in favour of Truax. Groves tweeted “Call it a day mate, you ain’t got no more.”
Chris Eubank Jr, another boxer in the super middleweight mix and the IBO title holder, joined in the public flogging.
Eubank and Groves comments were probably the last thing DeGale needed on a dark night. Possibly they were the last thing he cared about. If DeGale was rusty, he showed it. If he was apprehensive, maybe a feeling of vulnerability around the integrity of his shoulder, it may have played a part in any self-doubt.
Truax threw the more punches. He was direct, and he had DeGale on the back foot and in at the ropes, more then anyone could have anticipated. Now Truax, who got into boxing to pay off college fees, has bigger pay days ahead of him.
If one of those occasions is a rematch against DeGale, remains to be seen. However, if Frank Warren, who co-promoted the fight, is to be listened to, DeGale is not about to walk away from boxing, despite this low ebb.
“It’s not like he’s a washed-up fighter, he’s a young man, he’s not had a lot of fights. It’s a setback, any loss is a setback. He’s lost his title but champions come back – I’ve seen it loads of times,” Warren said in the fights aftermath.
And Warren is right. DeGale is young. Well at 31 he is not particularly old, in boxing terms. Regarding fights, he has been in the ring 26 times as a professional and fought 183 rounds. Compare him to Groves for example, who is two years younger, he has fought on 30 occasions and 186 rounds.
Maybe DeGale needed this. He now knows his shoulder isn’t made of glass. He has got a fight under his belt and his shoulder held. Maybe a rematch is what is needed. The shoulder issue played a part; it must have. Next time it should play an even lesser one.
To see DeGale depart now would be a shame. He was a great Olympian. Not a good one, a great one. His 2008 Gold Medal against Cuban fighter Emilio Correa Bayeaux was against the odds. He’s beaten the odds before. He can do it again.
