James DeGale vs Caleb Truax: ‘Chunky’ fights for his career in redemption bid to prove he is still among the best

Despite a career that has been filled with success, few fighters have consistently failed to appeal to fans like James DeGale. An Olympic gold medal, a world title and a slew of good opponents has never been enough for the Londoner to achieve notable support, and with his top level career hanging in the balance against Caleb Truax tonight, this may be his last chance to receive the adulation he has always craved.

Following his gold medal success at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, DeGale was booed on his professional debut in early 2009, and was very much the villain against George Groves in their 2011 battle. Prior to DeGale’s shock defeat by Truax four months ago, that was the only loss of his career, and he rallied back from the Groves setback to win the IBF super middleweight title against Andre Dirrell in 2015.

When DeGale outpointed Lucian Bute later that year, he was on the cusp of becoming a genuine fan-favourite, but a laboured win over Rogelio Medina and a disjointed draw with Badou Jack killed his momentum, before his loss to Truax last December. DeGale has suffered a slew of injuries throughout his career, and claimed he had come back too early from shoulder surgery when he fought Truax.

Whether that was true or not, DeGale was utterly outclassed by Truax in the fight, the latter coming to London as a vast underdog. It wasn’t simply a case that the American wanted to win more, as DeGale is one of the proudest fighters in boxing. Instead, DeGale was found tactically inept, outgunned, and ultimately outfought. The points defeat was galling, but the humiliation of being embarrassed on home turf has stung DeGale over the past few months.

The former champion has successfully cashed in an immediate rematch, but this time he must travel to Las Vegas to avenge his defeat. The 32-year-old has performed well in America before, but this time he needs to be a little more Simon and Garfunkel, and a little less Razorlight.

If you’re a regular player of James DeGale bingo, all of the numbers have been ticked off in the build-up over the past few weeks. DeGale has learnt from his lessons, he’s injury free and fitter than ever. The trouble is, we’ve heard it all before, and while they may be accurate, the fact remains that he hasn’t looked impressive in the ring for over two years, and has begun to show vulnerabilities that could be disastrous for a reflex-led fighter.

Despite those apparent flaws, a focused DeGale should still have more than enough to deal with Truax this time around. Fundamentally, he’s a better fighter, with better movement, footwork and range of punches. Truax will have gained immense amounts of confidence from beating the British star, but was that the highlight of his career? Does he have the ability to do it all over again, against an opponent who at least theoretically will have learnt and improved from the first bout?

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DeGale is still a massive betting favourite at 1/3, with Truax a significant 3/1 underdog, and if the first fight was an anomaly, then those are sensible odds. If DeGale’s prime has dimmed as much as his reputation however, then the value of Truax rises substantially. This is the true beauty of boxing, a fight which makes some sense from a business standpoint, but one which is incredibly difficult to predict. The short period of time between the bouts also adds intrigue. Has DeGale’s shoulder fully recovered, what other injuries are lingering, and if we can steal a thought from a film, does he still have the eye of the tiger?

Win tonight and DeGale remains on the shadows of the spotlight, looking ahead to potential bouts with the likes of George Groves, Callum Smith and Chris Eubank Jr. Lose, and the boos and disdain will quickly become nothing but silence.