BADOU JACK: I’M THE UNDERDOG; NO EXCUSES WHEN I BEAT DEGALE

By Keith Idec
NEW YORK – Badou Jack likes the fact that the pressure is on James DeGale, who has been installed as a 3-1 favorite over him.

Jack will try to defend his WBC 168-pound championship and win DeGale’s super middleweight title in a “Showtime Championship Boxing” main event two weeks from Saturday night.

“I like being the underdog,” Jack said. “And if I’m the underdog in this fight, that’s perfect for me. Then there’s not gonna be no excuses when I beat him, like my last couple of fights. There’s not gonna be no excuses. If I’m the underdog, how can there be any excuses? Everybody thought I was gonna lose, right?”

The 33-year-old Jack acknowledged, though, that he understands why DeGale (23-1, 14 KOs) might be viewed as the favorite entering their scheduled 12-round bout.

“He is one of the top guys,” Jack said. “He’s an Olympic gold medalist [in 2008]. He’s a world champion. He’s a road warrior. He’s coming to the States, fighting people in their backyard. So yeah, he deserves a lot of credit. That’s why this fight is so big. It’s the best fighting the best. He wants to be great. I wanna be great.”