DeGale v Groves begins to marinate, despite surgery on DeGale’s shoulder being announced

By Adam Godfrey: That IBF Super-Middleweight Champion James DeGale and newly crowned WBA Super-Middleweight Champion will meet in a rematch is essentially a given, should there be any semblance of intelligent match-making left in the sport; Groves beat DeGale in their 2011 bout by a majority decision. Besting his former Dale Youth Boxing stablemate did nothing to ease the intense rivalry between the two men, such was the narrow nature of Groves’ victory.

The two men’s careers took off in polar opposite directions following the fight, with Groves on the receiving end of three title fight defeats at the hands of Carl Froch and Badou Jack (twice and once respectively), in contrast to James DeGale’s victory over Andre Dirrell at his first attempt of clinching a World title. DeGale has remained champion since, even matching Groves conqueror Jack by holding him to a majority draw at the beginning of 2017.

Nevertheless, the feeling was always that Groves would eventually cross paths with his long-term nemesis again, and when it was announced that he would meet Fedor Chudinov for the vacant WBA belt on the undercard of the Kell Brook v Errol Spence Jr fight at Bramall Lane in May it was fair to conclude that the rematch between the two would never have a better chance of coming to fruition. Groves finally won his maiden world title against a game, but ultimately outclassed opponent in Chudinov, and talk has inevitably turned to when the rematch would occur.

With some marination the match-up could be a decent PPV event in the UK, especially given the willingness of each man to trash-talk the other. The tension between the men is both palpable and genuine, and with smart promoting the beef could be used to drum up significant public interest. Neither man will need motivation themselves of course, but a solid public reaction to a proposed fight will add extra impetus to proceedings.

For now, however, the bout remains a medium-term prospect, with today’s announcement by James DeGale that he will soon undergo surgery for a long-standing shoulder injury. He told Sky Sports:

‘…tomorrow I will have surgery on my right shoulder that will mean I will be out of the ring for a while. I suffered the injury several weeks before I fought Rogelio Medina 12 months ago but decided to fight through the pain, as I did earlier this year against Badou Jack.

I was only operating at 60 to 70 per cent however and that showed against Jack – I only threw seven jabs in that fight and I wasn’t able to throw a hook. Thankfully I’ve been good enough to get away with not being at my best, but I was almost found out in New York.’

While it is slightly discomforting to hear DeGale blame his slightly jilted performance against Jack on a shoulder injury, his up-coming surgery gives some credence to the argument that DeGale is a better competitor than he showed with less than stellar performances of late.

This announcement is not necessarily a debilitating blow to the prospect of Groves and DeGale meeting again in the ring in the near (ish) future. This is a fight that deserves to have attention cast upon it, but must be exposed to the general public before it can reach its potential. Neither are household names. But if DeGale and Groves can continue to provoke each other while the latter goes through rehabilitation following surgery, and assuming Groves retains his belt should he fight again before a deal can be agreed, the fight should happen before too long.

DeGale may, justifiably, seek a tune up once he returns from injury before meeting Groves. His expressed prediction being that he will be back in the ring by the end of the year, which would suggest that an early Summer 2018 fight with Groves will be the focus.

Any sense of inevitability that the two will rematch can conceivably only be scuppered by financial arguments. DeGale has been a world champion for longer and has only his loss to Groves blighting his CV. But Groves gained huge exposure in fighting Carl Froch and could arguably be considered the more popular and well-known fighter of the two. Neither will want to admit being the B-Side, and it may be that a straight 50-50 split, or a marginal split in favour of Groves, will need to be agreed to make sure the fight comes to fruition.

Even at this embryonic stage of proceedings the barbs have already begun to be fired between the two, and the lure of a hefty payday for the two pugilists make this fight a virtual certainty. Should both remain healthy and in possession of their belts, expect to see the promotion of this fight start in earnest, and relatively soon.

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