Warren urges De Gale to fight on after shock loss
PROMOTER Frank Warren insists James DeGale will not walk away from boxing despite the Londoner hinting at retirement following his shock defeat to Caleb Truax.
Truax, the 34-year-old American, was a 16-1 outsider to beat the former Olympic champion at London’s Copper Box Arena on Saturday night.
But DeGale, who was taken to hospital after the bruising encounter following a suspected broken nose, was no match for Truax and lost on a majority decision.
DeGale was making his comeback after nearly a year on the sidelines following shoulder surgery, and was expected to have despatched of Truax with a view to fighting long-term rival George Groves or Chris Eubank Jnr in an all-British mega fight next year.
But the 31-year-old’s career now hangs in the balance after losing his IBF super-middleweight title with Eubank Jnr describing his performance as “shameful” and Groves urging his long-term rival to hang up his gloves.
“I am devastated with my performance last night,” DeGale tweeted yesterday. “I feel like I’ve let everyone down — myself, my family, friends and fans.
“I don’t want to be in any other position than No 1 so I am going to take some time out to reflect and make some decisions going forward.”
DeGale’s tweet would appear to suggest the Londoner, who shot to prominence after winning Olympic gold at the 2008 Beijing Games, is considering his future in the ring.
But Warren, who already has one eye on a rematch with Truax, believes DeGale will fight on.
“I don’t think he will retire,” Warren said. “You’ve got to be tough mentally, and if you had a bad day at the office, as James had, then you have got to push it to the back of your mind, learn from it, get back in the ring and show them what you are made of.
“It is not like he is a washed- up fighter. He is only 31 and he is still a young man. Of course it is a setback — any loss is a setback for a champion if you lose your title — but champions come back and win and we have seen a lot of fighters do that over the years.”
DeGale’s fourth defence of his title fell apart in the fifth round after Truax unleashed a number of fierce shots with his opponent up against the ropes. DeGale somehow survived the barrage, but headed to his corner bruised, bloodied and in deep trouble.
DeGale put up brave resistance to stay in the fight, but it was Truax who delivered the more telling shots, with two judges scoring the fight 115-112 and 116-112 in favour of the challenger. Outboxed : DeGale was taken to hospital after the fight BELFAST Star have placed themselves back in contention for a coveted end-of-season playoff spot, insists coach Darren O’Neill, after sealing back-toback victories on Saturday night in the All-Ireland Superleague.
Star won on the road 74-60 against Maree after a second-half blitz, having been down a point at half-time with Conor Quinn top scoring on 16 points and twin brother Aidan hitting 14, while Frenchman Clement Kulinicz had 13.
Having hammered Maree earlier in the season, O’Neill was unhappy with a “sloppy” display in the first half but some sharp words at half-time clearly did the trick as Star came out with a greater intensity which took all the fight out of their opponents.
The victory moved Star up to sixth place in the Superleague and they now look ahead to a home game this Saturday night against DCU Saints, who they have already beaten this year in Dublin.
“We have given ourselves a great chance to push hard for the top four. That has been our goal all season and we have a good chance to strengthen that with a win this weekend before a two-week break over Christmas, which is probably coming at the right time for us,” said O’Neill (above), who is eager to see new American DeAngelo Legrier hit top form.
“Those two weeks will give us the chance to work with DeAngelo.
“He’s still finding his feet, he has never played basketball outside of the States and it takes time to get used to the league and the refereeing and of course he has to get real match fitness.
“He did a good job on the boards for us on Saturday night but we really haven’t seen anywhere near the best of him.
“Even three good training sessions this week will help him get that little bit fitter.”
As for his side’s overall performance, O’Neill admitted that he expects more from his men.
“I felt that our intensity wasn’t where it should have been and the guys realised that and went out and stepped it up in the third quarter,” added O’Neill.
“We can’t afford to start like that against DCU so hopefully that lesson has been learned.”