Monday 5 October 2015 20:43, UK
James DeGale has played down talk of a rematch with George Groves, saying he is only interested in taking on 'elite' fighters.
The only blemish on DeGale's record (21-1 KO14) is a defeat at the hands of Groves back in 2011 when his British rival took the domestic and Commonwealth super-middleweight titles at the O2 Arena.
But where Groves failed in his attempts to land world belts against Carl Froch (twice) and most recently Badou Jack last month, DeGale beat Andre Dirrell in May to claim the IBF super-middleweight title.
A rematch with Dirrell is possible down the line, but first up for the 29-year-old is a trip to Canada to take on Lucian Bute in Quebec City on November 28.
And DeGale says fighters of the quality of Bute (32-2 KO25) is what he is looking for in the future.
Speaking as he left for Canada, DeGale told Sky Sports: "If he fancies it we can have it, but I am looking at the big boys - the elite.
"I'm looking at [Andre] Ward, I'm looking at Dirrell again, I'm looking at [Arthur] Abraham, the big fighters.
"I just want to get in there and box the best. I know on my day I am very very hard to beat, so it's all looking good.
"Lucian Bute is a very, very good fighter. He had the title for five years, defended it more than 10 times and he's still hungry. He wants his title back.
"I'm looking forward to a competitive hard fight but the way I am feeling in the gym and sparring, no one is going to beat me."