By James Slater: Desperate to get back in the ring after losing both his British title and unbeaten record to arch-rival George Groves in May, 2008 Beijing gold medallist James DeGale has not had to wait too long for his promoter Frank Warren to get him a fight. Set to return in September (exact date and venue to be confirmed), “Chunky” will challenge European super-middleweight champ Piotr Wilczewski of Poland.
Saying he has put the Groves points loss behind him (though DeGale still believes he won the fight), the 25-year-old says he is in a good position and that a win over the experienced Pole will put him in a great position for challenging for a world title. But 32-year-old Wilczewski, 29-1(10) will be no pushover.
Beaten just once (by Curtis “Showtime” Stevens who scored a 3rd-round TKO over him back in July of 2009), the Polish fighter who goes by the nickname of “Wilk” has met and defeated some good names. Mostly facing fellow European fighters, Wilczewski scored his biggest win this March, when he stopped Amin Asikainen of Finland in the 11th to take the European belt. Boxing predominantly in his homeland, Wilczewski has also boxed in the U.S. Not a big puncher, Piotr will not be expected to stop DeGale.
The flashy, hugely confident DeGale may have been knocked down a peg or two with the loss to Groves, but he remains a top prospect for world honours. Proving he is a man of his word by getting back in the ring as quickly as possible, DeGale deserves credit for taking on a tricky, durable and experienced foe. Still a work in progress in world class terms, the 10-1(8) hope will likely have to go some rounds against the Euro champ. Never before the Groves fight had DeGale gone 12-rounds, and in this fight he may have to go the full route again.
To his credit, DeGale’s stamina held up fine against Groves, and on paper he should be looked at as a fairly clear favourite to beat Wilczewski (especially if he has the expected advantage of boxing at home). On the other hand, though, we never know how a first defeat can affect a fighter. And is DeGale’s idea of coming back just four months after his first pro loss a great idea, even if this does show his desire?
I think a 12-rounder is a good bet, and the younger, faster, perhaps more ambitious DeGale should be able to pick up a most useful points victory. It may well be that DeGale lands a massive fight with former middleweight king Kelly Pavlik later this year or early next. A second pro defeat would of course ruin all that.