I love fighting but I won’t be one who keeps going until they are disabled

DeGale hints he’ll call it a day if he loses to Eubank

IT IS 9.30am on Monday morning and a glamorous young woman is pulling out of James DeGale’s driveway in north London. ‘Busted,’ he chuckles, answering the door i n his briefs. ‘I’m going into cut down now. I lock everything off in camp; friends, going out, shopping, TLC. No cuddles! I train smart these days. I’m not 22 any more...’

After quickly running upstairs to get dressed, DeGale sits down for a fried breakfast cooked by his sister, Eloise. Bacon with the fat trimmed off, wholemeal bread, beans and eggs fried in extra light oil. No corners cut in preparation for the 33-year-old’s money-spinning fight with Chris Eubank Jnr next Saturday at the O2 Arena.

‘I’m feeling the best I’ve felt,’ he says, lifting up his T-shirt to show off his abs. ‘I’m going back to the JD of 2009. I’m feeling fresh, feeling nice. This fight is so big because there are so many questions hanging over it: Is JD shot? Is JD on the decline? Is Eubank any good? There’s a lot on the line but I’m far too good for Chris Eubank.

‘I’ve done everything. Eubank’s done nothing. He’s got a lot of heart, a lot of desire and lot of b******s. You can’t teach that, but sometimes you’ve got to be real with yourself. Technically, he’s not good.

‘ He’s half living off the name. He’s Chris Eubank’s son so he’ll bring something to the table. At least he’s earned some good money, so credit to him. He ain’t the world’s best but it’s a fight the public want to see. If I really am shot and on the decline, Eubank will find me out. Judge me after this fight.’

There is not a speck of dust on the photographs hung on DeGale’s living room wall. His home is modern and clean, thanks more to the efforts of Eloise than DeGale himself. The series of pictures document his rise from Olympic gold in 2008 to two-time world super-middleweight champion. Known as the Road Warrior, he defended his title in Quebec, Washington and New York. His pension will be paid in dollar bills but the fight at the O2 offers a top-up in pounds sterling.

‘Let’s go through my career,’ he says. ‘I’m an Olympic gold medallist, British, European and a twotime world champion. I’ve left my mark. I could have a year left or three. Maybe I could become a three-time world champion? In boxing, you never know what’s going to happen. London ain’t been my luckiest place to box but that’s about to change. The last year or so I’ve been talking about the same stuff: injuries. I feel like a parrot. I sorted my achilles, I feel fantastic.

‘A lot of people think I’m just looking for one last payday and then I’ll knock it on the head — 90 per cent are writing me off. They’ll get the biggest shock of their life when I come out and win every round.’

Retirement has been mentioned repeatedly. DeGale and his 29-yearold opponent have traded verbal blows before things get physical, with both agreeing that defeat could be the end for the loser.

‘ If I lose, which I won’t, then where do you go?’ asks DeGale. ‘ I’ve achieved what I want to achieve and everything now is a bonus. Thanks to my family, I’ve got a couple of houses. If I get out of boxing in the next couple of fights I’ve had a lucky escape.

‘Boxing’s a brutal sport. You hear about fatalities and brain injuries. As you get older, you worry more about that stuff, but I’m a fighter.

‘I love fighting but I won’t be one of those that keeps going till they’re disabled. Once I know it’s gone then I’ll knock it on the head ... but it ain’t gone yet.’