Confident DeGale vows to put on a show on his return from injury

JAMES DeGale insists his injury-free status means tonight’s showdown with Caleb Truax at the Copper Box will mark the rebirth of his career.

DeGale (below) fights on British soil for the first time in three years after campaigning in the United States and Canada, winning the IBF super-middleweight title that will be at stake.

The Olympic gold medallist insists his recent performances have been affected by a series of injury problems, the most notable of which resulted in the shoulder surgery that has restored him to full fitness.

“It all starts again for me with a fantastic performance. You will see me jabbing, double jabbing, hooking off my jab,” DeGale said.

“You will see me with a nice tight defence, whereas before the shoulder was affecting everything. With my defence I couldn’t hold my hand up because of the pain and I couldn’t hook off my jab as a right-handed southpaw. My breathing was also affected and I have also had a nose operation.

“I now feel so much better and you lot are going to see the difference. I don’t think this fight against Caleb Truax is going the distance and you will see how much I have improved.”

American Truax has lost three and drawn two of his 33 fights and is expected to give DeGale a 24th victory.

“Maybe for my first fight back he is the perfect opponent. There will always be criticism, but I have got to think about myself,” DeGale said.

“Truax is in the top 15 and I am looking forward to it.”