DeGale can become first British Olympic gold medallist to become world champion…
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Groves wants sensible offer for DeGale rematch: Groves hits back at Hearn.
DeGale press conference scheduled: ‘Chunky’ expected to announce title fight.
Froch to vacate IBF belt: Cobra to step aside as Vegas awaits.
Promoter Eddie Hearn has confirmed that James DeGale will get a shot at the IBF super-middleweight world title on April 25 at the O2 Arena in London.
With Carl Froch opting to vacate the belt as he continues to pursue a dream fight in Las Vegas against Julio Cesar Chavez Jr this summer, DeGale will be handed an opportunity to win the belt in his home town.
‘Chunky’ has been in sparkling form since joining Matchroom, as he claimed a stoppage win over Brandon Gonzales last May at Wembley to establish himself as the mandatory challenger for Froch’s belt.
In November, he stopped Marco Antonio Periban in Liverpool to add a top name to his list of wins as he looked to test himself while he kept busy as Froch continued to contemplate his future.
The Nottingham-born fighter is currently sidelined with an elbow injury and instead of applying for a medical exception to get an extension on his mandatory challenge, Froch has opted to step aside and relinquish his belt.
“It’s been a long time coming but I will be fighting for the World title and making history. I don’t care who I have to fight to do it,” DeGale told the assembled media.
Meanwhile, should DeGale get past his next opponent and long-time rival George Groves gets his chance of winning a world title against Anthony Dirrell for the WBC belt later this year, it is widely expected that the feuding pair will secure a rematch later in the year.
Groves and Hearn engaged in an exchange on Twitter on Monday which led the former to insisting that he wasn’t Hearn’s “whore” and will wait for a sensible offer to be made for the bout to happen.
Meanwhile, Hearn insisted that DeGale has taken 10 steps forward in his career over the last 12 months while Groves has looked average in his last two fights. Additionally, Groves was stopped twice by Froch before that but has successfully navigated his way back into the world title picture with the WBC.
It is all building-up to a fantastic rematch between the rivals, but first DeGale will be fully focused on making history on April 25.
Sky Sports boxing expert Ed Robinson confirmed on Twitter that negotiations have started with Andre Dirrell for April 25.
Made official @jamesdegale1 is due to face @andredirrell for IBF title vacated by Froch. Negotiations have started.
— Edwin Robinson (@Skyedrobinson) February 3, 2015
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