IBF super-middleweight champion, James DeGale, has dismissed all suggestions of Carl Froch ahead of his fight with Lucien Bute in Quebec in 10 days time, saying ‘The Cobra’ is both ‘an old man’ as well as ‘old news.’
DeGale fights former Froch foe Bute, in the maiden defence of the (vacant) belt he won back in May against Andre Dirrell, hoping to better his newly-retired countryman’s own destructive stoppage performance over the Canadian southpaw back in 2012.
The IBF strap being contested on the 28th belonged to the-now-35 year old Bute before Froch took it, with ‘The Cobra’ eventually vacating earlier this year shortly before he retired – ostensibly to avoid DeGale, his then-mandatory challenger.
Yet recent ‘coming-out-of-retirement’ suggestions from Froch, that made reference to being able to take his old belt back with ease against ‘Chunky’ have prompted an indifferent attitude from DeGale, who won Olympic gold at the Beijing Olympics back in 2008.
“Froch is old news, he’s an old man,” he said to Sky Sports. “If I was him, I would just stay retired and chill. He’s achieved a lot in boxing, he’s earned a lot of money… just sit back and relax.”
“There’s no point in coming back and fighting me, trust me,” the Al Haymon advised DeGale added.
The Jim McDonnell trained southpaw claims to be more than confident ahead of the clash with Bute, stating he will end matters within the first half of the fight, despite the perceived disadvantages of again fighting away from home.
Following that, he has made much of his desire to chase big unification fights in 2016, against the likes of WBC champ, Badou Jack, as well as eventually fighting the winner of Saturday’s showdown between WBO champ, Arthur Abraham and DeGale’s fellow Brit, Martin Murray.
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