James DeGale has dismissed the idea of facing Chris Eubank Jr. in his next fight after coming through an operation to improve his breathing.

The IBF world super middleweight champion has been told to stay away from contact training for up to seven weeks, but a summer fight is still on the agenda.

Callum Smith, George Groves and Andre Dirrell have all been mentioned as potential opponents, and DeGale’s mandatory challenger is Jose Uzcategui.

IBO super middleweight titleholder Eubank Jr., however, has not made his shortlist. “This guy has turned down Gennady Golovkin and Billy Joe Saunders and all of a sudden, because I’m doing so well, he wants to fight me,” DeGale wrote in his column for the Mirror newspaper.

“They [Eubank Sr. and Jr.] actually make me laugh, they’re a comedy act. … He’s telling people he’s got a genuine world title, but there are only four world titles and everyone in boxing is laughing at him.

“Eubank Jr. has boxed absolutely no-one and the one time he stepped up to the plate, he got beat. … There are levels in boxing and I’d find it hard to get in the ring with him because he brings nothing to the table.

“He knows I’m at the very top; he wants to fight me for the money. It would be a big fight in England but I don’t really want to give him a chance.

“I remember being in his position a couple of years ago when I was the mandatory challenger for Carl Froch’s world title and he wanted nothing to do with me because he thought I hadn’t boxed anyone and I wasn’t at his level; well I’m in the same position now.”

DeGale’s previous fight was a draw with Badou Jack last month, and a rematch has been ruled out, but the 31-year-old was confident of enhancing his reputation nonetheless.

“I’ve had a couple of injuries to sort; a perforated ear drum which is healing well, and a deviated septum which I’ve been boxing with for a couple of years,” he said. “I’ve been fighting at 70 percent because it affected my stamina.

“It looked like I was struggling, but it was because the cartilage had gone across my airway and blocked my right nostril. I wasn’t getting enough oxygen into my lungs, my blood and my muscles. I am hoping in the next fight you’ll see the difference.”