James DeGale vs Jose Uzcategui purse bid set for July 5

A purse bid for a fight between IBF super middleweight titleholder James DeGale and interim titleholder Jose Uzcategui has been set for July 5, as the two sides have been unable to reach a deal to this point, but could still before the bid is due.

DeGale (24-2-1, 14 KO) regained the belt on April 7 with a win over Caleb Truax in Las Vegas, four months after Truax upset DeGale to win the title in London. The 32-year-old titleholder has also been recently rumored as an opponent for Billy Joe Saunders on September 15, with Frank Warren talking about putting a deal together to make that fight, with Saunders going up in weight.

Uzcategui (27-2, 23 KO) is coming off of the biggest win of his career, an eight-round stoppage of Andre Dirrell on March 3 in Brooklyn. The 27-year-old Venezuelan has emerged as a legitimate contender in the division thanks to that win, and looked like he was doing so 10 months prior when he was controversially disqualified against Dirrell in their first meeting.

Personally, I think this stacks up as a really interesting matchup. DeGale has the skills over Uzcategui, but DeGale is also a dreadfully inconsistent fighter at times, and Uzcategui’s style could be hell for “Chunky” if he isn’t in top form.