London (24 January) WBC Silver super middleweight champion James DeGale MBE will be back in action on March 1st at The City Academy, Bristol, live on Channel 5, as his scheduled WBC final eliminator against Badou Jack looks set for purse bids
The 2008 Beijing Olympic Gold Medallist, DeGale, will top the bill in Bristol against a soon to be announced opponent, with an agreement between Hennessy Sports and Mayweather Promotions not looking imminent.
“I can’t wait to get out there in Bristol and put on a fantastic performance,” DeGale said.
“Jack’s team have made it clear they aren’t interested in the March 1st date in England for whatever reason, so I see this as the perfect opportunity to get out there and show everyone what I’ve got.
“I just hope that Jack doesn’t do a Periban when he sees my performance in Bristol.”
DeGale’s scheduled fight with Jack is in the private negotiation period following the WBC’s announcement of their final eliminator contest, fighting for the mandatory position to challenge champion Sakio Bika for the WBC world super middleweight title.
The bout was originally set between DeGale and Mexico’s Marco Antonio Periban, with Hennessy Sports looking at a March 1st date in the UK.
Following Periban’s withdrawal on the eve of purse bids, Jack was nominated as the new opponent and subsequently offered the same date for the fight by Hennessy Sports.
However, in Dan Rafael’s recent ESPN blog, Leonard Ellerbe, the CEO of Mayweather Promotions, was quoted as saying that Jack’s side isn’t considering taking an offer to come to England for the fight, despite Hennessy Sports’ interest.
“We’re not interested in doing anything like that,” Ellerbe said.
Now, with the contest likely to be decided by purse bids on February 14th, DeGale headlines a packed show in Bristol that includes British bantamweight champion Lee Haskins and young heavyweight sensation Hughie Lewis Fury.
“We offered the date to Jack and his team, but as they have recently made it clear that they have no intention of coming to the UK on March 1st, we have been negotiating with other opponents to make sure James fights on this date,” Promoter Mick Hennessy said.
“James is world class and this gives him the perfect opportunity to send a statement to Jack by putting on a devastating display.”
Also scheduled to fight on the show is a whole host of talent, including local Bristol fighters Dan Sarkozi, Lee Nutland, Ashley Lane and Dane Kelly, along with Gloucester’s Wayne Ingram and Weston Super-Mare’s Liam Hunt in his professional debut.
