http://www.skysports.com/story/0,,11067_6982449,00.html
The fight was obviously close from the word go but did you think, throughout the 12 rounds, that you were winning?
DeGALE: Only twice did I go back to the corner and think 'he's got that round'. I swear to God, twice. So that's two rounds out of 12. There were a couple of rounds that were close but I thought I'd won it by three or four rounds and that's no joke. I've since found out that on the official scorecards, one judge had me up a round and the other two had it a draw, so they've scored the last round to him. It totally changed the whole fight. I definitely won the last round, so I'm a bit baffled.
The first six rounds were crucial. Do you think you did enough in the first half of the fight?
DeGALE: There were a couple of rounds that were close, that they could've given to George, but I was the champion, I was the one pushing the fight. But going back after round six I remember Jim (McDonnell) saying 'Chunk, some of those rounds were close, they could be scoring them to George. Step it up a gear'. And I did. I hit him, I rocked him in the ninth and in the 11th round. I had a good ninth and should've gone out and pushed it more in the 10th, but I had been cut for the first time, the blood was going in my eye, I kept dabbing it and it was a bit weird. But I still had a good 11th and a good 12th.
So what was going through your mind waiting for Jimmy Lennon Jnr to give the verdict?
DeGALE: I thought I'd won, Jim came up to me and said you've got that, he'd had a text from his brother - he's a referee - and I'd got it by two or three rounds; allegedly came up to me, told me I'd got it; I was looking at people in the crowd and they were all going 'yeah, you got that'. Then when the ref had our hand and Jimmy Lennon Jnr was doing his thing, I looked to Jim, Frank told them I hadn't got it, and he wouldn't look at me! They just looked down, sad. And I thought 'oh my God I haven't got this', but Jimmy went 'and still undefeated' ... and I thought 'that's me, that's me!' but then he said 'Saint'... and... and I just felt terrible.
Did you congratulate him, say anything to him afterwards?
DeGALE: No. Nothing.
"Time is a healer and I'm getting over it. Because it was controversial, because it was close and because the majority of people I've spoken to thought I won, I am dealing with it a bit better. "
James DeGale Quotes of the week
Did what had just happened hit you as soon as you got back to your dressing room?
DeGALE: It didn't sink in until the next day when I woke up and I was hoping... but I just felt me eye, it hurt, and then it hit me. It was so close; it wasn't like I got knocked out, I lost by one point... one point - and that's what upset me the most. Going into the last round, I was up! To lose by a point is hard. But time is a healer and I'm getting over it. Because it was controversial, because it was close and because the majority of people I've spoken to thought I won, I am dealing with it a bit better.
How bad were the next few days?
DeGALE: Bad. But watching the fight over on the TV made me feel a bit better. But I still don't know how they scored it for him. Obviously there were rounds that he won, two or three that he should've won, but the closer ones? I don't know how he got them. The first couple of days, I was upset. It's like you're just depressed, all the time. But I've got a great family around me, a great team and you just have to get over it. I didn't get knocked out or whitewashed and I'm back in the gym, ticking over already.
You asked for a rematch straight away - did you expect to get one?
DeGALE: Really and truthfully? No. They're not going to fight me again. He's boxed out of his skin, he got the win, he ain't going to box me again is he? I heard him say down the line we can box again but he knows he ain't going to. If it was me, and people were saying it was that close a fight, I would fight him. I would do it. But we are two different people and we're on two different journeys now.
You took yourself off to Spain a few days later. Was that just to get away from it all?
DeGALE: No... that was planned months before, win, lose or draw. It was booked and paid for, so I went away to Marbella with the boys and had some fun. But I was still thinking about it all the time and had people constantly coming up to me asking what happened, telling me I should've won. You know what? I'd rather they had been coming up to me saying 'bad luck, better luck next time', but it was so close, so controversial it wasn't like that. But there's always ifs, buts and maybes... it doesn't matter now. It's done and dusted. I lost.
You know George Groves well; did you think he had that level of performance, that level of discipline in him?
DeGALE: I knew he could move around the ring, but I've heard people chat s*** and say he out-boxed me... but he out-moved me. Remember what I said before: if he comes to fight me, he gets knocked out. If he's Mr Technical it could last a bit longer - which it clearly did. But he was so negative. And every time I hit him, he was fragile. When I was in range and I was cutting the ring off, I wasn't letting my hands go. But it felt like every time I was there, setting my feet to let go, he was gone again.
allegedly came out afterwards and said you threw that fight away but isn't that being too hard on George Groves... and indeed, James DeGale?
DeGALE: No it isn't. I definitely threw that fight away, he didn't win that fight... come on! All the rounds that were close... I was aware of that and I will learn from it. I will never let anyone run from me again and nick a fight like that. George Groves didn't win the fight, I lost it in those first six rounds when I wasn't busy enough. But what was he doing? I'd be happy if he was busier, but because I was the one pushing the fight, making him throw punches, I thought they would give it to me.
But once you realised his tactics, shouldn't you have adapted?
DeGALE: People say James DeGale didn't have a Plan B, but that's bull****. I could've boxed on my back foot - that's what I'm known for - but if I'd have done that, there wouldn't have been a fight.
So why didn't you fight how you wanted then? As you say, you were the (British) champion, so why change your style?
DeGALE: Because they were booing. He was stinking the gaff out, they were booing us... I had to! If I'd have boxed on the back foot, there wouldn't have been a fight because he didn't throw a punch.
In hindsight, was that not a bit naive?
DeGALE: Not really, but now I know you don't have to knock someone's head off to win a title. If I have to win a world title boxing on the back foot, being booed, then I will if that's what it takes. But if I did box him again, you know Hearns and Hagler, Destruct and Destroy, in three rounds? I'd come straight out, stick a pace on him and throw loads of punches - then we'll see what happens. I still think he's fragile; every time I hit him with any half-decent punch he looked shook.
"I assumed George would hold the centre of the ring and throw with me, but he didn't. I thought he was a proud, brave boy. But obviously, however you win, you win, it's a means to an end. "
James DeGale Quotes of the week
In preparing for this do you think you and Jim McDonnell gave Groves and Adam Booth enough credit for what they were capable of?
DeGALE: Of course. But I didn't think George would box like that - I assumed he would hold the centre of the ring and throw with me, but he didn't. I thought he was a proud, brave boy. But obviously, however you win, you win, it's a means to an end. But using them tactics, with the fight being so close, shouldn't the champion get it? I just don't see it. But you've got to move on, haven't you?
As you say but the bottom line is he beat you. Can you give him any credit for that?
DeGALE: I find it hard to, I really do. I don't know how he won that fight. You say he had a gameplan and he stuck to it, but it was on the back foot. I don't know how they are so confident that they won that fight. It's crazy, it's unbelievable. But of course, it's not just a case of luck that I lost; I didn't fight the perfect fight, there were things I could've done differently. Maybe he did get his tactics right...
So, what do you think you did wrong?
DeGALE: My mistakes? When I was in range and I was cutting the ring off, I wasn't letting my hands go. But it felt like every time I was there, setting my feet to let go, he was gone again. That and the first six rounds, when I should've been busier.
And by the same token, what positives do you take from the fight and your performance?
DeGALE: That 12 rounds is a walk in the park - if anything I think I had a couple more gears to go through. As for all that talk about handling a crisis in the ring, that never bothered me anyway; I know how much bottle I've got. But he hardly hit me, he never hit me clean, hurt me. I got my first cut, that was a bit off-putting, I had a blood going in my eye. I've learned about cuts, about my engine, a lot. People forget it was only my 11th professional fight. I'd never been cut before, I'd never done 12 rounds. And it was a massive atmosphere, an intense build-up.
Looking back at the build-up, is there anything you would've done differently?
DeGALE: Maybe I would hold it down on the verbals, but we don't like each other and I am not the sort of person to hold my tongue. If I think I'm going to knock him out, I'll say it. Don't forget he was saying he was going to knock me out as well, he was calling me 'horse face', as much as I was calling him ugly kid. It works both ways.There was a lot of animosity. And the bet...
"I don't want people to think that bet couldn't have been done, that the Board wouldn't allow it. I am a man of my word and I would've paid it. Trust me. A bet it is bet, I called it, he said yes. I bet they're kicking themselves now."
James DeGale Quotes of the week
The bet...is it any consolation that it was called off and you saved yourself some money?
DeGALE: Not really, no. Trust me, I am a man of my word and I would've paid it. But when I got home that night, there was letters from their lawyers telling me he didn't want the bet - I don't want people to think it couldn't have been done, that the Board wouldn't allow it. I am a man of my word and I would've paid it. Trust me. A bet it is bet, I called it, he said yes, I would've paid it. I bet they're kicking themselves now.
After a defeat a boxer's instinct is that something went wrong, so something has to change - usually the trainer. Did you go through that?
DeGALE: Not at all. Why am I going to change my trainer? If I didn't have Jim I wouldn't have been in the situation to start with. Look at the transformation I've made from my first fight to this fight; it's gone onwards and upwards, I've just got better and better. But yeah, a lot of people were calling on me to change my trainer and I had also had lot of calls from other trainers. But no, I'm not changing anything. Maybe there could've been a tiny bit more urgency in the corner, a tiny bit... but then Jim did that in the sixth. Apart from that, training went great, he's a fantastic conditioner and technique-wise he's unbelievable - people don't realise how good he is. Why would I change something that's not broken? Who else is there better than Jim McDonnell? No-one.
So where do Jim McDonnell and James DeGale go from here?
DeGALE: I'm already back in the gym, ticking over, I'll be back fighting in September and I can't wait. I will still be world champion. This hasn't changed my path; I will still be a world champion by the end of next year. And you know what? If I am and Georgie Groves comes knocking on my door? Sorry... you've had your chance. That door ain't opening.
What about that first fight back? Who are you looking at?
DeGALE: Frank says it's going to be a big one, but I don't know yet. Domestically, who is there left for me to box? Groves has got the British and Commonwealth belts and he's not going to fight me. It doesn't matter though, I'll be there before him - at a world title. I've got one of, if not the best promoters in the world and he will get me to the top. He's done it with Amir Khan, Joe Calzaghe, Ricky Hatton; I've got complete faith in him. He will get me to a world title by the end of next year - or even before.
And if that does happen, do you think you will ever get over losing to George Groves?
DeGALE: I know what you mean and right now because of that last round and the scoring, I'll admit it's hard. But I am dealing with it and time is a great healer. In years to come, when I'm a world champion, I think we'll forget about it, but right now I've got to get myself up and dust myself off. The James DeGale story isn't over, by a long way. In fact, the James DeGale story just got more interesting...
