Bish cash bosh
TAXING TIMES FOR DeGALE Moeen vows to roar like Lyon
JAMES DeGALE says he needs to earn £30m – just to finance his party lifestyle.
The IBF super-middleweight champion returns to the ring tonight against littleknown American Caleb Truax after 11 months out with a shoulder injury.
It is DeGale’s first fight in Britain since 2014 but he has had four bouts in the US and Canada since then, including winning the world title against Andre Dirrell.
And ‘Chunky’ claims he is not tempted to move abroad to a tax haven – despite his fury at paying so much of his earnings to the tax man.
“I know it is sick me saying it, but £10m (for a fight) is not a lot of money,” said DeGale, who has lost just one of his 25 professional fights, against arch-rival George ® Groves. “By the time I am taxed and have paid people, I would probably be picking up about £400,000. That’s why I have to earn another £30m to live the way I want to live.
“Forty seven per cent of my money goes to the taxman but I have never thought about going to live somewhere like Monaco.
Stupid
“I can remember someone telling me the Beatles, way back in the 70s, were getting taxed something like 98 per cent.
“That is stupid, taking so much money off people in tax.
“But I was tempted to go and live in America, where there is much less tax. I thought about going to Miami, I like it a lot there. I don’t know if I could leave London, MOEEN ALI admits he “let down” his England team-mates by failing to match up to Australia spinner Nathan Lyon in the first two Ashes defeats – but says he is determined to come roaring back.
The all-rounder has struggled after suffering a side strain in the build-up to the first defeat in Brisbane and then he cut his spinning finger.
His two wickets at 98 apiece paled in comparison to Lyon’s 11 at 22.72 as England crashed to go 2-0 down.
The third Test starts in Perth next I love London. I don’t think I could leave my family either, they look after me.
“I am a baby and rely on my mum and sister Eloise to do everything for me.
“I am like, if my tyre is flat, ‘Hello, mum, what shall I do?’”
“All I want to do is box, earn money, win titles. In my time off, I like meeting women, partying with my mates and spending money that I have earned the hard way.”
While DeGale’s fights across the pond have earned him plenty of cash, it has stopped him growing a large fan base in Britain like heavyweight Anthony Joshua.
And before the next party can start he has to get Truax, 34, out of the way to set up lucrative 2018 clashes with WBC champion David Benavidez and WBA title holder Groves, if he wins the World Boxing Super Series. ® from RODNEY WHITE in Perth Thursday and Moeen said: “You obviously feel like you have let the team down, and the captain especially.
“The injuries have played a part, especially in the first game – there was a time in Brisbane when I couldn’t feel the ball in my fingers, it was so sore.
“But in Adelaide I was fine. With a bit more time off it will be fine for Perth and I do believe I can bowl better for the team and turn it around.” Moeen will captain an England XI in a two-day warm-up starting in Perth today against Cricket Australia, but he won’t bowl to give his finger more time to heal.
Instead, he wants batting practise, and added: “There will always be a time that you won’t bowl or bat as well.
“Lyon is bowling so well and the hardest thing is you try and compare yourself to that and you try even harder and it’s quite a difficult thing at times.
“I’m sure that he has had some periods when he has not bowled that well.”