By Scott Gilfoid: Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn says that he thinks that a fight between IBF super middleweight champion James DeGale (21-1, 14 KOs) and George Groves (21-3, 16 KOs) can still be made despite Groves’ recent loss to WBC super middleweight champion Badou Jack last September.

It just means that Groves will need to take a poor purse split of the money right now. Hearn thinks that Groves can change that if he gets some wins behind him so that he can come back to the negotiation table in a better position than he is right now. Hearn says that DeGale wasn’t joking when he said that Groves would have to accept a 90-10 purse split of the money for a fight between them right now.

According to Hearn, 10 percent would still be a lot of money for Groves. He thinks that he shouldn’t worry about what DeGale is getting, but instead focus on the money he’s getting for the fight. Hearn thinks that Groves doesn’t have any other options right now for a big money fight. I guess the old saying ‘beggars can’t be choosers’ might apply for Groves right now.

“You can’t blame James for having a little joke and a laugh at George’s situation,” Hearn said to IFL TV about DeGale kicking sand in Groves’ face after his recent loss to Badou Jack. “If you’re going to behave in a certain way, you’ve got to deal with the consequences. I think a lot of what George does is premeditated for the benefit of the promotions and for the benefit of the fight. Of course, with that you’ve got to role with what comes with it. The fight [DeGale vs. Groves] is still there. We’ve got some time before the fight can materialize again, but it can still happen. Of course, the dynamics of the deal change. It makes it very difficult to do because there are egos involved,” Hearn said.

I think that DeGale and Hearn will be holding their breath for a long, long time if they believe that Groves will come to the table for anything less than a 50-50 split. I don’t see it happening. I think he’s got too much pride to accept a small cut of the money against a guy that he previously beat, and still believes he’s better than. If Bute has the opportunity to make a lot of money against other fighters, then he should go in that direction.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2hiw7EACM0U

Right now, DeGale is probably exhausting his only fight that will bring him a reasonable payday in his fight against Lucian Bute. After that fight. DeGale won’t have anyone to fight that will bring him any money unless he wants to move up to light heavyweight sand fight the likes of Sergey Kovalev or Adonis Stevenson.

I can’t see that happening ever in this lifetime. Those guys hit too hard, and DeGale wouldn’t be able to avoid getting hit by them all night long. He’d have to not get him for him to go the full 12 rounds. Gennady Golovkin isn’t going to move up to super middleweight to fight DeGale because there’s no money in that fight. Maybe if DeGale holds onto his title for a long time, then Golovkin could one day show interest in fighting DeGale at a catch-weight of 164lbs, but that’s about it.

“Don’t worry about what your opponent is getting. Worry about what you’re getting,” Hearn said. “Well, he would have to take a poor split at the moment probably. He has to come back with a win. At the moment, you’d have to say that James DeGale is a huge favorite in that fight. So you have to show people the credibility in that fight. George working with a new trainer, telling a story, ‘I’m back. I’m on a new road.’ Get a credible win at 168 pounds. Listen, DeGale-Groves is always going to be a huge fight, but the more George can improve his credibility and his value in the fight, the bigger the fight and obviously the more money at the end. At the moment, James DeGale is not joking, but 10 percent can still be a lot of money, especially when you have no other options. As time goes on and George gets back on the horse that percentage will increase, but it’s always going to be difficult in a voluntary,” Hearn said.