Hearn says Eubank Jr. vs. DeGale happens Dec.8 on ITV PPV

[Enlightened-One]

"Hearn says Eubank Jr. vs. DeGale happens Dec.8 on ITV PPV"

James ‘Chunky’ DeGale (25-2-1, 15 KOs) will be fighting former IBO super middleweight champion Chris Eubank Jr. (27-2, 21 KOs) on December 8 on ITV pay-per-view, according to Matchroom Sport promoter Eddie Hearn.

This is not a good situation for DeGale. He’s looked completely shot since his fight with Badou Jack in January 2017. Eubank Jr. is fighting at a much higher level than DeGale at this point. The only part of DeGale’s game that he still has is his movement. DeGale, 32, can still move well for his age, but he’s unable to throw combinations like he did before. He punches and then holds, and looks tired. This could turn out to be a real mismatch in favor of Eubank Jr.

There’s no word where the fight will be staged. Hearn points out that it’s not an ideal situation for DeGale and Eubank Jr. with them both having recently been beaten. It’s not a great time for them to be fighting each other right now in terms of their careers. Moreover, DeGale-Eubank Jr. are picking a bad month to fight due to the many big PPV fights taking place in December.

Here are the fights that DeGale vs. Eubank Jr. will be competing with in December:

– Deontay Wilder vs. Tyson Fury

– Carl Frampton vs. Josh Warrington

– Dillian Whyte vs. Dereck Chisora

“December 8,” Hearn said to IFL TV when asked about the date of the DeGale vs. Eubank Jr. fight. “DeGale-Eubank apparently happens December 8 on ITV pay-per-view. It could have been massive. DeGale just lost his world title. Eubank Jr. just lost to Groves. It’s still a big fight. You’ve got pay-per-view Fury-Wilder on December 1st, DeGale-Eubank Jr. PPV on December 8, and Whyte-Chisora and Frampton-Warrington on December 22 on PPV,” Hearn said.

It’s a big ask putting Eubank Jr. vs. DeGale on PPV. It’s not likely going to bring in a lot of PPV buys. It’ll still be a fun fight to watch, but the two fighters aren’t going to make a fortune fighting each other like they would have if they had fought each back in 2016 before the two of them’s recent losses.

Eubank Jr. was beaten by former WBA Super World super middleweight champion George Groves by a 12 round unanimous decision in February 2017. Eubank Jr. was totally outclassed in that fight. Eubank Jr. rebounded from that defeat to beat JJ McDonagh by a 3rd round stoppage last month on September 28. DeGale lost to fringe contender Caleb Truax by a 12 round majority decision last December. In the rematch, DeGale beat Truax by a controversial 12 round decision last April in a fight that a lot of people thought he should have lost. DeGale spent the majority of the fight holding and running and looking bad. DeGale fought well enough to lose by four rounds. DeGale finally won a clear victory in stopping his last opponent welterweight journeyman

Fidel Monterrosa Munoz by a 3rd round knockout on September 30. The question is why was DeGale fighting a welterweight? DeGale clearly needed a confidence booster.

The timing is really bad for DeGale vs. Eubank Jr. to be on ITV PPV. The month is wrong for this fight due to the numerous fights on PPV in December, and it’s a bad time for the two of them with their careers. DeGale and Eubank Jr. need to come back with some big wins before they face each other because it’s too soon for the both of them to be meeting up on PPV.

Thoughts?

[jamamb]

makes sense why degale dropped his belt id think , prob wouldve lost to uzcategui for less then hed make here

based on how james looked in both truax fights id go for eubank. btw that article says he shouldve lost the truax rematch by about 4 rounds but i thought he just edged it. it was close though

[Ruthless-RKO]

makes sense why degale dropped his belt id think , prob wouldve lost to uzcategui for less then hed make here

based on how james looked in both truax fights id go for eubank. btw that article says he shouldve lost the truax rematch by about 4 rounds but i thought he just edged it. it was close though

Yeh, DeGale definately won the rematch.

Is the article from BoxingNews24? They’re always biased.

[Enlightened-One]

Is the article from BoxingNews24? They’re always biased.

Yes it is. I already provided a hyperlink to the article I quoted.

A lot of the BoxingNews24 articles are written by amateurs that are simply fans of the sport rather than proper journalists. And I’m not being disparaging when I say that, because it is what it is... that's the way the website is run. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that to be honest.

I suspect that part of the reason why Chris Eubank Jr. rejected an opportunity to compete for the vacant WBC title, allegedly “humiliating” Mauricio Sulaiman in the process, was because he had bigger fish to fry facing a fellow Brit, such as DeGale.

I also feel that this was one of the reasons why James DeGale refrained from defending his title against Jose Uzcategui, since he can engage in more lucrative bouts against his fellow countrymen instead (i.e. Eubank Jr., Smith, Groves and Fielding).

[Ruthless-RKO]

I suspect that part of the reason why Chris Eubank Jr. rejected an opportunity to compete for the vacant WBC title, allegedly “humiliating” Mauricio Sulaiman in the process, was because he had bigger fish to fry facing a fellow Brit, such as DeGale.

Makes sense. He would have likely fought for the WBC belt later this year, then god knows when that would have pushed the DeGale fight back. Who else would DeGale fight in that time.

[KiwiRider]

If it's PPV, they can shove it.
Degale does not have the workrate to be in the ring with Eubank Jr. He is going to get swamped.

[Ruthless-RKO]

If it's PPV, they can shove it.
Degale does not have the workrate to be in the ring with Eubank Jr. He is going to get swamped.

Like Hearn said, they're both coming off losses. (Even though they both technically won their last bouts).. There's no real momentum going into this bout. They are definitely 2 names in the UK. No doubt.

[Enlightened-One]

The fight against James DeGale is Chris Eubank Jr’s last chance saloon, because if he’s hesitant and adopts a poor game-plan, by trying to box instead of brawl (as we witnessed in his bouts against Saunders and Groves), then he’ll inevitably lose and languish at domestic level for the remainder of his career.

If James DeGale loses, but acquits himself well, he’ll still be able to engage in a relatively lucrative rematch against George Groves.

If Eubank Jr. has learned from the mistakes he’s made in the past, by using his physicality to outwork his opponent (as per his performance against Arthur Abraham), then I’d expect Chris to score a late stoppage, because DeGale is known to fade during the final stages of bouts.

Alternatively, if ‘Chunky’ possesses enough power to discourage Eubank Jr. from attempting to persistently overwhelm him with barrages of shots, then James DeGale will probably win by wide decision.

I’m currently favouring ‘Chunky’ to score a wide decision victory, but admittedly it’s a 50-50 type fight.

[lazboy]

Degale can do it. He can win. He moves his feet. Just needs to get fit.

[Enlightened-One]

So it seems that we've received formal confirmation, since Eddie Hearn was previously commenting on a rumour he'd heard.

"James DeGale vs Chris Eubank Jr reported to be a ‘done deal’ for huge UK fight on December 8"

The bout would likely take place in London and is rumoured for the ITV Box Office channel

James DeGale will reportedly face off against Chris Eubank Jr on December 8.

The British rivals have teased a potential bout for the past couple of years, and now it looks set to finally come to fruition.

According to BS, a deal has been struck for the pair to fight on December 8, with London suggested as the most likely venue, although the specific arena is not yet known.

It is also thought that the bout would end up being shown on ITV’s pay-per-view Box Office channel, despite December already being a busy month for the sport on pay TV.

Eubank Jr returned to action last month, for the first time since his February defeat to George Groves, with a third round stoppage victory over JJ McDonagh.

DeGale, meanwhile, had an off-TV fight against Fidel Monterrosa Munoz on the same weekend, which he also ended early in the third round.

The 32-year-old former world champion vacated his IBF title earlier this year to swerve his mandatory challenger and seek bigger money fights as he now looks to draw his career to a close.

It appears he’s found one of these bouts, as Eubank is a big enough rival to create a PPV event.

[KiwiRider]

DeGale dropping his belt, to me, drops the value of his stock exponentially. Realistically, there isn't much point in fighting him. He doesn't have the fan base to fight for the sake of fighting. And the premise that either of these guys are PPV worthy is fascicle.
The entertainment factor of Degale's two fights against a fringe contender like Truax was low. Eubank just lost to the guy who lost to the guy within the UK standings- making him the 3rd best SMW domestically.
On top of that, most people would judge the matchup to be on two different levels.
It's a mediocre fight at a busy time and I think it is doomed to be sidelined by fans.

[ewenhay]

It's pretty daft adding another ppv to what is already an overloaded schedule in the lead up to Xmas.

[leftrightleft]

If he beats eubank put him with smith after for the wba