‘Chunky’ had hoped to fight for title at O2 Arena in London…
James DeGale faces the prospect of having to travel for his title shot on April 25 after it was announced that a purse bid will be held on March 10.
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DeGale will fight for the vacant IBF super-middleweight world title on April 25, but negotiations between promoter Eddie Hearn and Andre Dirrell’s camp had been on-going in terms of getting the fight in London.
However, talks have now broken down between the two parties and with Hearn unwilling to negotiate with Dirrell’s team, the IBF have ruled that a purse bid to stage the fight will be held in March.
DeGale will face Dirrell after Carl Froch opted to vacate the belt last month which resulted in the two highest ranking contenders facing off for the title instead.
The 31-year-old American is unwilling to travel to England again after a contentious split-decision defeat to Froch in Nottingham in 2009.
Although he has stated on multiple occasions that he is excited about the prospect of facing DeGale and that he does not care where it takes place as ultimately he wants to be world champion, it appears as though his team have pushed hard to avoid a trip across the Atlantic.
All this will do little to distract DeGale who is already in training camp, and following his last two performances he will be confident in his ability to defeat Dirrell wherever the fight takes place.
‘Chunky’ claimed a stoppage win over Brandon Gonzales last May to become the mandatory challenger for the IBF title before stopping Marco Antonio Periban in Liverpool in November.
However, he will now wait on news to see if influential advisor Al Haymon will beat Hearn with his purse bid and force him to travel to America for the fight.
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