James DeGale and Chris Eubank Jr. are set to announce their mouthwatering domestic clash this week.
The pair have been in discussions about a super-middleweight showdown since the summer, with a view to it happening before 2018 was out. However, the fight couldn’t be confirmed and now appears to have been signed for early 2019.
The show, which Boxing Social understands will take place on February 23 at the Olympia in Kensington, London, will likely be broadcast on ITV as part of the three-year deal it has just signed with Haymon Sports and Premier Boxing Champions.
Poxon Sports, the exclusive promoter of all UK PBC events on ITV, will be the name on the poster for the show, it is understood.
DeGale relinquished the IBF world super-middleweight crown in July, the one he had won back from Caleb Truax three months earlier, to start lining up money-spinning fights such as the one with Eubank Jr.
The former Olympic gold medallist kept himself busy with a tune-up fight against Fidel Monterrosa Munoz in Ontario, California in September, stopping his opponent in round three, after it became clear the fight with the former IBO champion – who was last in action against JJ McDonagh at the King Abdullah Sport City Stadium in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia back in September – wasn’t going to happen.
“My team have been working very hard and we’ve got some very big, exciting news to announce soon,” DeGale, who turns 33 in February, said when he relinquished the world title. “No world champion easily gives up their title. I’ve proudly held the IBF title in two reigns with pride and distinction, which is why it makes it very hard decision to relinquish the belt.
“I’m in the final phase of my career where I have a few good years left where I can be involved in massive fights and really leave a legacy in the division’s history.”
Eubank Jr., meanwhile, has mentioned the possibility of fighting in February in a few interviews recently.
“I’ll be back out in February,” he told numerous reporters at the conclusion of Dillian Whyte’s rematch victory over Dereck Chisora at London’s O2 Arena on December 22nd. “It’s going to be a massive fight.”
Article by: Elliot Foster