By Tim Parsons-
James DeGale is in no mans land after losing his IBF title in a shock upset defeat to Caleb Truax on Saturday night at the Cobax Box Arena in East London.
His handlers are hoping he can return for a rematch in 2018, but others say he is seriously contemplating retirement after a defeat that took him and the boxing world by surprise.
Retirement will be difficult for the former super middle weight world champion to psychologically handle, after a successful career before now. Retiring will be like admitting being inferior to Truax, but a rematch risks losing twice to the same opponent. It will depend how confident Degale is.
Degale had previously defended his title four times in a row successfully, all against top name opponents. His shock loss on points to an unheralded American opponent was a reminder that in boxing it only takes one fight to question or ruin a fighter’s credentials. Truax had lost just 3 times in 34 fights, but Deale was considered miles above him in standard. Victory for Degale would have kept the North West Londoner in line for a unification crack against the winner of George Groves and Chris Eubank Jnr. Now, Degale can only set his sights at a rematch against an unknown quantity whose confidence has no doubt risen tremendously after this win.
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Degale hadn’t boxed in 11 months, but this was an opponent he handpicked- a voluntary opponent. Degale had looked in control up until the fifth round when the challenger took advantage of Degale’s complacent stance on the ropes, and threw all he could to destabilise Degale . Degale, fully bloodied and puzzled by how things were turning out was now in a fight that had became tougher after each subsequent round. Degale’s absence from the ring now appearing to tell as he struggled to get rid of opponent who was in the fight to win, and managed to do so on points.
“I will have to sit down and look at everything, look for what went wrong,” a very disappointed DeGale said at the end. It’s crazy and I can’t believe it,” “I have boxed at a high level for two-and-a-half years and I have got to get back to the drawing board. I have got to sort certain things out and change things. I’m just gutted — I’m so upset.”
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Degale will have all of Christmas to contemplate his defeat, but it could be a great opportunity for him to come back and put the wrong right. World title rematches are always a good sell, for the losing world champion, the fear of two loses in a row is always a scary one. Degale at 31 can still come back , but he will have to reflect seriously at what went wrong as he cannot afford for a repeat to occur next year. if he takes on a rematch as he is expected to do to save his face.
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