James Frederick DeGale was born on 3 February 1986 and is a British former professional boxer who competed from 2009 to 2019.
55 Facts About James DeGale
2.
James DeGale held the IBF super-middleweight title twice between 2015 and 2018, and regionally the European and British super-middleweight titles between 2010 and 2012.
3.
James DeGale won silver at the 2007 and 2008 EU Championships, and bronze at the 2006 Commonwealth Games.
4.
James DeGale has stated on numerous occasions that he is a big Arsenal fan and frequently fights with the Arsenal FC Club logo on his robe and shorts.
5.
James DeGale represented Great Britain at the 2008 Summer Olympics in the Middleweight boxing event, winning the gold medal.
6.
James DeGale was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire in the 2009 New Year Honours.
7.
James DeGale received a mixed reaction from the crowd, who booed him after being taken the distance by his little-known opponent.
8.
However, James DeGale was backed by others in attendance, as Tchilaia chose to box extremely defensively.
9.
Five more victories followed before James DeGale won his first regional championship, the WBA International super-middleweight title, stopping Sam Horton in five rounds.
10.
On 18 September 2010, James DeGale made the first defence of his title against Carl Dilks, winning by stoppage near the end of the first round.
11.
James DeGale went on to defeat Smith via ninth-round stoppage to become the British super-middleweight champion.
12.
On 17 March 2011, Frank Warren announced that James DeGale would defend his British title against fellow Dale Youth Boxing Club graduate and Commonwealth champion George Groves at The O2 on 21 May Groves had previously held a majority decision win over James DeGale in the amateurs.
13.
James DeGale suffered his first professional loss Groves, in what was seen as a very close fight.
14.
James DeGale was scheduled to return to action in September 2011 to challenge Polish boxer Piotr Wilczewski for his European super-middleweight title.
15.
James DeGale slowed down his work rate before immediately picking it back up during the sixth and seventh rounds.
16.
In February 2012, James DeGale signed a sponsorship deal with Bulk Powders sport supplements.
17.
James DeGale took six months out before fighting Italian boxer Cristian Sanavia on 21 April 2012 and successfully defending his European title in Denmark.
18.
James DeGale dropped Sanavia 3 times in round 4, forcing the referee stoppage.
19.
On 8 December 2012, James DeGale outpointed 35-year-old Colombian fringe contender Fulgencio Zuniga in a 12-round bout to win the vacant WBC Silver super-middleweight title.
20.
When James DeGale looked to attack and go for the stoppage, the referee inadvertently separated the boxers because he thought the bell sounded to end the round.
21.
On 17 May 2013 James DeGale knocked out 33-year-old Canadian boxer Sebastien Demers in the second round in a non-title fight.
22.
James DeGale made two more successful defences of his WBC Silver title, the first came in November 2013 against American boxer Dyah Davis.
23.
On 10 April 2014, James DeGale signed a promotional deal with Matchroom Sport.
24.
James DeGale made his first appearance under Matchroom on the undercard of the Carl Froch and George Groves rematch at Wembley Stadium on 31 May 2014.
25.
James DeGale's opponent was undefeated contender Brandon Gonzales in an IBF final eliminator, who would be fighting outside of the US for the first time.
26.
The end came when James DeGale landed a big left hook, flooring Gonzales, after connecting with a left-right combination.
27.
James DeGale's second fight under the Matchroom banner took place at the Echo Arena in Liverpool on 22 November 2014 against former WBC world title challenger Marco Antonio Periban.
28.
James DeGale admitted this was his toughest fight to date and most important as a defeat could end his world title pursuit.
29.
James DeGale became the first boxer to stop Periban, when the fight was halted in round 3.
30.
James DeGale landed two lefts, 30 seconds into the round and Periban was unable to continue.
31.
In February 2015, Carl Froch vacated the IBF title, due to injury, paving the way for James DeGale to fight for the title against the next available challenger.
32.
James DeGale beat Dirrell by unanimous decision to win the vacant IBF super-middleweight title.
33.
James DeGale was pleased to become the first British Olympic gold medalist to win a world title.
34.
On 28 November 2015 at the Videotron Centre in Quebec, Canada, James DeGale defeated Bute via unanimous decision.
35.
James DeGale was able to block his punches and land the type of punches that would win him rounds.
36.
On 15 Feb 2016 it was announced that James DeGale would make second defence of his IBF title against mandatory challenger Rogelio 'Porky' Medina, with the fight to take place on 30 April at the DC Armory in Washington, DC.
37.
James DeGale was originally supposed to fight mandatory Jose Uzcategui, however Uzcategui suffered an illness.
38.
In front of a crowd of 10,128, James DeGale retained his IBF title but failed to capture the WBC and vacant Ring title after the match ended in a majority draw.
39.
James DeGale knocked Jack down once in round 1 with a left hand.
40.
James DeGale hit the canvas for the first time in his professional career when Jack knocked him down with a right hook to the head in round 12.
41.
James DeGale lost a tooth during the fight and damaged his eardrum.
42.
In March 2017, James DeGale wrote to the IBF and was granted medical exemption, as he was due to fight a mandatory next.
43.
On fight night, Truax pulled off a huge upset in defeating James DeGale and claiming the IBF super-middleweight title after 12 rounds.
44.
James DeGale started the fight well but fought mostly against the ropes for the remainder of the fight, allowing Truax to land many power shots.
45.
James DeGale became a two-time world champion in defeating Truax via unanimous decision in what was a tough fight.
46.
James DeGale started off fast in the opening two rounds until a cut appeared over his right eye in round 3, which slightly impaired his vision.
47.
James DeGale's corner did a good job of dealing with the cut, however blood kept streaming from the cut in the following rounds.
48.
James DeGale sporadically pushed Truax during the clinches and was eventually docked a point for using his shoulder to nudge Truax in round 10.
49.
James DeGale stated the reason he vacated was because he was in the final phase of his career and he wanted to pursue bigger fights.
50.
James DeGale stopped journeyman Fidel Munoz Monterrosa in the round 3 to record his first stoppage win in 6 fights dating back to November 2014.
51.
James DeGale knocked Fidel Munoz Monterrosa down with a big uppercut.
52.
James DeGale used his jab and the occasional power shot during the fight, which was said to be an easy fight before James DeGale took part in a big fight in December 2018.
53.
Serious talks around the fight first began in July 2018 after James DeGale vacated his IBF super-middleweight title.
54.
The last time James DeGale had fought a fellow British boxer, until that point, was the majority decision loss to George Groves in May 2011.
55.
In February 2019, following defeat against Eubank, James DeGale retired from professional boxing.