I’ll make Eu pay for slurs
DEGALE OUT TO DESTROY RIVAL LIKE HERO BENN
JAMES DeGALE is on a revenge mission tonight for his childhood hero.
The two-time world champion is aiming to keep his career alive against Chris Eubank Jnr in an intriguing super-middleweight clash at the O2 Arena in London.
The bad blood between the pair has been the narrative for the build-up but Olympic gold medallist DeGale has another motivation.
At 33, the former IBF super-middleweight champion grew up watching a golden era of domestic British boxing.
It was a time when his opponent’s dad was strutting his stuff on terrestrial TV and involved in two of the most well known allBritish fights.
Eubank Snr stopped Nigel Benn in 1990 before a rematch at Old Trafford in 1993 which ended in a draw and captured the imagination of the country.
But as a fan of the ‘Dark Destroyer’, DeGale was not one of the many who enjoyed the eccentricity and flamboyance of the ropevaulting Eubank.
“I grew up watching them,” said DeGale. “I was more Nigel Benn, the Dark Destroyer. I loved his attitude, he was a London man, a proper geezer.
“He was a wicked fighter. I was a fan of him, not Eubank. I didn’t mind Eubank growing up, I was just more Nigel Benn.
“Eubank was an entertainer and a showman, and he could fight a bit. I was all about Nigel Benn.”
There were plenty of mind games in the build-up to those two Eubank-Benn meetings and DeGale feels his opponent’s dad is up to CHRIS EUBANK JNR insists he has nothing to prove to his father.
The Brighton boxer takes on two-time world champion James DeGale tonight at the O2 with his reputation on the line. Eubank Jnr, 29, has lost his only other two big fights, coming up short against Billy Joe Saunders in 2014 and George Groves last year. Ex-world champ Chris Snr raised doubts over his hopes of beating DeGale, despite the arrival of a new trainer in Nate Vasquez. “I believe I’ve proven myself to him and the boxing public,” said ‘Next Gen’ (left). “That is why I am who I am and I have the name and the respect that I have in the sport. “But at the same time, there is so much more I have to achieve in the his old tricks again. At a heated press conference on Thursday, Eubank Snr questioned DeGale about “substances” he had seen him taking on nights out, appearing to allude to alcohol consumption.
“Him and his dad are trying to draw confidence and now they’re making it personal,” said ‘Chunky’.
“So I can’t have a drink or have a bird? I can’t wait to punch him in the face and deal with him proper.
“I’m a normal, successful guy who has done well for himself.
“Yes, in my spare time, I go to nightclubs and s**g birds. That’s what everyone does. I’m only a normal guy.
“They’re playing mind games. They’re idiots.”
DeGale spent last night watching back Eubank Jnr’s second career defeat at the hands of George Groves in the World Boxing Super Series semi-finals last year.
The Londoner, who lost to Groves in 2011, has been studying that tape in training camp as it only adds to his belief he will get his 26th career win tonight.
“If you’re not switched on for 12 rounds, he is a difficult fight,” said DeGale. “Let’s not write him off totally.
“He can be outboxed but he is as game as f**k. All I do is watch him fight George Groves and I watch his feet and the jab. I’ve got to keep it simple and hurt him early on and let him feel it.
“I’ve watched it a couple of times, I’ll watch it again just to get it in my head.” sport and so many more goals that I have to reach.
“In that sense I have to beat DeGale, I have to prove that I am a superior fighter to him and that I am worthy of going forward and challenging for world titles and fighting the best names in the game.
“The losses on my record were points decisions. I’ve never been hurt, I’ve never been knocked out. My confidence isn’t knocked. I know what I’m capable of.
“I know that I made mistakes in the past and I know that I’ve learned from them.”
Eubank Snr appeared to question his son’s spirit and mentality on Thursday.
“He is not talking about my fighting spirit that’s for sure,” added Eubank Jnr.
“I wouldn’t say he is doubting me. He says it’s a 50/50 fight. I don’t believe it’s a 50/50 fight. He hasn’t seen the work I’ve been doing.”