By Tim Royner: James ‘Chunky’ DeGale (25-2-1, 15 KOs) will be fighting former IBO super middleweight champion Chris Eubank Jr. (27-2, 21 KOs) on December 8 on ITV pay-per-view, according to Matchroom Sport promoter Eddie Hearn.
This is not a good situation for DeGale. He’s looked completely shot since his fight with Badou Jack in January 2017. Eubank Jr. is fighting at a much higher level than DeGale at this point. The only part of DeGale’s game that he still has is his movement. DeGale, 32, can still move well for his age, but he’s unable to throw combinations like he did before. He punches and then holds, and looks tired. This could turn out to be a real mismatch in favor of Eubank Jr.
There’s no word where the fight will be staged. Hearn points out that it’s not an ideal situation for DeGale and Eubank Jr. with them both having recently been beaten. It’s not a great time for them to be fighting each other right now in terms of their careers. Moreover, DeGale-Eubank Jr. are picking a bad month to fight due to the many big PPV fights taking place in December.
Here are the fights that DeGale vs. Eubank Jr. will be competing with in December:
– Deontay Wilder vs. Tyson Fury
– Carl Frampton vs. Josh Warrington
– Dillian Whyte vs. Dereck Chisora
“December 8,” Hearn said to IFL TV when asked about the date of the DeGale vs. Eubank Jr. fight. “DeGale-Eubank apparently happens December 8 on ITV pay-per-view. It could have been massive. DeGale just lost his world title. Eubank Jr. just lost to Groves. It’s still a big fight. You’ve got pay-per-view Fury-Wilder on December 1st, DeGale-Eubank Jr. PPV on December 8, and Whyte-Chisora and Frampton-Warrington on December 22 on PPV,” Hearn said.
It’s a big ask putting Eubank Jr. vs. DeGale on PPV. It’s not likely going to bring in a lot of PPV buys. It’ll still be a fun fight to watch, but the two fighters aren’t going to make a fortune fighting each other like they would have if they had fought each back in 2016 before the two of them’s recent losses.
Eubank Jr. was beaten by former WBA Super World super middleweight champion George Groves by a 12 round unanimous decision in February 2017. Eubank Jr. was totally outclassed in that fight. Eubank Jr. rebounded from that defeat to beat JJ McDonagh by a 3rd round stoppage last month on September 28. DeGale lost to fringe contender Caleb Truax by a 12 round majority decision last December. In the rematch, DeGale beat Truax by a controversial 12 round decision last April in a fight that a lot of people thought he should have lost. DeGale spent the majority of the fight holding and running and looking bad. DeGale fought well enough to lose by four rounds. DeGale finally won a clear victory in stopping his last opponent welterweight journeyman
Fidel Monterrosa Munoz by a 3rd round knockout on September 30. The question is why was DeGale fighting a welterweight? DeGale clearly needed a confidence booster.
The timing is really bad for DeGale vs. Eubank Jr. to be on ITV PPV. The month is wrong for this fight due to the numerous fights on PPV in December, and it’s a bad time for the two of them with their careers. DeGale and Eubank Jr. need to come back with some big wins before they face each other because it’s too soon for the both of them to be meeting up on PPV.