James DeGale will get his shot at the vacant IBF super-middleweight world title on May 23 when he faces fellow contender Andre Dirrell in Boston.
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The 29-year-old is hoping to become the first British Olympic gold medallist to go on and win a world title in the professional ranks, but he will have to do it the hard away and travel.
Promoter Eddie Hearn had hoped to stage the fight at the O2 Arena in April, however the fight went to purse bids and they were blown out the water with an offer exceeding $3m from Warrior Boxing.
As a result, DeGale will now head to Boston but he was merely delighted to have a date and venue in his head as he continues his training camp for the bout.
“Dirrell’s a very, very good opponent – he’s only lost the one fight to Froch where a lot of people thought he’d won,” DeGale told Sky Sports.
“He’s tall, tricky southpaw – a bit like me. A lot of people say our styles will clash, but I think they’re going to gel. There’s a lot on the line – a world title – we’re both hungry, young and ambitious. I think it’s going to be a hell of a fight.”
Despite insisting that he was open to the idea, Dirrell was against travelling to the UK after he suffered a contentious points defeat to Carl Froch in Nottingham back in 2009.
Ultimately, he was handed the advantage with the purse bid victory, but DeGale remains confident that he will firstly be able to bring the world title home and then go on to fight the best in the division including a potential domestic clash with Froch that has been talked up for some time but was declined by the WBA champion.
However, the Londoner isn’t looking too far ahead as he is fully aware of the task that is in front of him with Dirrell but he will look to put on a show Stateside to continue to grow his profile and realise his dream of becoming a world champion.
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