James DeGale’s plans for 2018 will have to be rewritten after he lost his IBF super-middleweight championship to Caleb Truax in one of the year’s biggest upsets at the Copper Box Arena.
DeGale hoped what looked like a straightforward fourth defence would pave the way for three fights that would prove he was the division’s No 1.
But instead the 31 year old southpaw says he is “going back to the drawing board” after Truax took away his belt on a majority points vote.
“I can’t believe that,” gasped DeGale afterwards – and neither did the bookmakers who didn’t foresee the 34 year-old American’s plodding pressure giving him any trouble.
Bu after 12 hard rounds, two of the judges had Truax ahead by scores of 115-112 and 116-112 and the other had them level at 114-114.
George Groves wrote on Twitter afterwards: ‘Give it up, mate . . . you ain’t got it anymore.”
For DeGale, it was his first fight since undergoing surgery on his right shoulder in the summer and throughout the fight, he appeared to have no confidence in his right jab.
He afterwards admitted: “I probably rushed back . . . I should have waited.
“There was no pain (in the shoulder), but it’s not flowing.”
Without an effective jab and little authority or timing in his back hand, DeGale couldn’t stop Truax getting close and pushing him back.
DeGale did well to get through a torrid fifth round when Truax pinned him on the ropes and nailed him repeatedly with right hands, leaving him with a bloodied mouth, a nick under his left eyebrow and possibly a broken nose.
Devastated with my performance last night. Feel like Ive let everyone down – myself, my family, friends and fans. I dont want 2 be in any other position than No1 so going to take some time out 2 reflect and make some decisions goin forward.Thank u all for your love & support 😔💙
— James DeGale (@jamesdegale1) December 10, 2017
There were close rounds in the second half of the fight when DeGale had his successes sitting on the ropes blocking and countering, but it was the aggression of Truax that was taking him clear on two of the cards before DeGale won the last two rounds.
Lee Selby kept his IBF featherweight title on the show, but with mandatory challenger Josh Warrington at ringside, he didn’t impress in his unanimous points win over Mexican southpaw Eduardo Ramirez.
Ramirez couldn’t win the belt after being too heavy at the check weigh in and though the scores were wide for Selby, he didn’t have things all his own way.
By the middle rounds, Selby, making his fourth defence, appeared to have found his rhythm and pulling away.
But Ramirez stuck at it and when the champion didn’t move his feet, fell in or his mind wandered, the Mexican was there to punish him.
And still. 👑 pic.twitter.com/clTDU1UiWN
— lee selby (@leeselby126) December 10, 2017
The pockets of success Ramirez had weren’t winning him too many rounds on the cards, however, and Selby produced his best work in the last on the way to a win by margins of 118-110, 119-109 and 116-112.
Performance of the night came from Ilford light-heavyweight Anthony Yarde, who jumped up several levels to face Nikola Sjekloca and blasted him out in four rounds to keep his WBO Intercontinental and WBO European belts.
Sjekoca, a 39 year old from Montenegro coming off a draw for the European title, had never been stopped before and tested Yarde’s chin with right hands.
https://twitter.com/boxnationtv/status/939855455102341122
There was concern from the home crowd in the last minute of the second when Sjekloca pinned Yarde on the ropes, but he kept his cool and found a quality, short right hand to the chin that put Sjekloca on his knees.
Sjekloca rallied in a closer third when both had their successes – and then Yarde blasted him out of the fight in the next. Yarde dazed him early in the session with a right hand and kept the heavy punches coming to drop him in a heap.
Sjekloca pulled himself upright, but was wobbling after Yarde opened up again and the referee waved the fight off.
Heavyweight hope Daniel Dubois did what Anthony Joshua couldn’t do – and knocked have-a-go-Welshman Dorian Darch off his feet.
By the end of the opening round, Darch had been on the floor and his face was bloody, but he still took the fight to Dubois at the start of the second.
The Londoner kept his composure, punched with Darch and smashed him to the floor three times, the final knockdown the result of a trademark right hand.
https://twitter.com/boxnationtv/status/939910593653428224
Peckham welterweight Johnny Garton captured the vacant IBF European welterweight title with a dramatic, come-from-behind win over solid Frenchman Mihail Orlov.
Down on two of the cards after nine of the scheduled 12 rounds, Garton found a left hook-right hand to have Orlov stumbling in the 10th.
He jumped all over Orlov and was pounding him in a neutral corner when the referee decided he had seen enough.
Essex crowdpleaser Joe Mullender captured the vacant IBF European middleweight title, finally breaking the resistance of 37 year-old Lee Churcher in the 11.
Churcher had been down twice in the fifth, again in the eighth and apparently close to defeat several times.
But he kept finding Mullender’s chin with clean uppercuts that kept him in the fight.
Mullender walked through the punches and got the stoppage in the 11
. There was a clash of heads that left Chucher bleeding from his left eyebrow and after he was dropped by a glancing left hook later in the session, the referee sensed there was no more fight left in him and waved it off.
READ MORE:
James DeGale Loses Title Against Caleb Truax