"A lot of people looked at me as just a slick boxer that doesn't like getting hit. I showed them Saturday, mate."
Thursday 19 January 2017 14:08, UK
James DeGale is bruised and battered but proud of his scars. Sky Sports spent a day with the homecoming world champion, who is revelling after adding brawn to his bravado.
A three-inch stitch on DeGale's right cheek is hanging slightly loose and his panda eyes are striking, but it's not all bad news. The front tooth, so notoriously dislodged by Badou Jack last weekend, is back in its rightful home.
"Basically it was a bridge, so he didn't actually knock out any teeth," DeGale explains, showing off his shiny new smile. "Ten days before I was in Miami doing my last spar, and some geezer knocked it out. We put it back."
The errant tooth, or bridge of a tooth as DeGale insists, was the most cerebral moment of the world title unification fight against Jack last weekend in New York City. Despite it being scored a majority draw, the fighter previously dubbed 'a road warrior' has returned triumphantly to London.
"Not really felt it…" DeGale is trying to remember the sensation of Jack punching part of his tooth across the ring. "But when the gum-shield went back, it wouldn't stay in. It kept coming out.
"I'm recovering well, feeling alright. My face is still aching, but apart from that…"
It's strange to see DeGale, the IBF super-middleweight champion, looking like he's been through the type of tear-up that has often been the trademark of the division, from Benn-Eubank to Froch-Kessler. Perhaps unlike his predecessors, the latest incumbent of the red belt does not come across as the type of bloke that you should avoid when you see him coming.
His critics, ironically, suggested he was toothless.
"That's why I'm getting so much credit, and kudos," he added. "A lot of people looked at me as just a slick boxer that doesn't like getting hit. I showed them Saturday, mate. I can go in the trenches.
A lot of people looked at me as just a slick boxer that doesn't like getting hit. I showed them Saturday, mate. I can go in the trenches.
"It felt like I was in a Rocky film, it was weird. In a sick way, I actually enjoyed it. I remember saying to my coach 'I'm looking forward to being in fights where I'm getting off the floor'."
Was it fair, before the fight, to question DeGale's toughness? "Yeah, probably. Because I just out-box people. I'm just too good for them. But in this fight I made it hard for myself. I stood in the pocket. I played him at his own game, and had a fight with him."
Maybe, deep-down, DeGale needed to test his own mettle. But did he plan to scrap? "No, not really. The first four rounds I was moving, winning pretty easy. But a 12-round fight is a long time so, in the end, I stood there and had it with him. I actually enjoyed it."
DeGale showed considerable bravery to withstand a late knock-down, having floored Jack 12 rounds earlier, and survive to the final bell. Four days on, his eyes light up when he remembers the fight's standout moments.
I was more tired. He hit me, hurt me, and the next thing I knew, I was on the floor. I got up and my legs were fine, cool.
"My knock-down was a nice left hand - it shook him," said DeGale. "It wasn't a flash knock-down but it was out of the blue. I don't think he was that hurt, but it still shook him.
"My one? I was more tired. He hit me, hurt me, and the next thing I knew, I was on the floor. I got up and my legs were fine, cool. I finished the round better, if anything."
The hardest that DeGale's ever been punched, surely? "Probably not," he says. "I've been hit harder in sparring."
It seems like a long time since Jack gave DeGale a tiara in their pre-fight press conference, a gift that he was happy to ironically wear. He is convincing when he speaks of abstaining from Christmas excesses at his family home, ramping up the fitness work to compliment his natural skill, and brawling rather than boxing.
It is a threat that might be heeded by the likes of Callum Smith and George Groves, licking their lips and awaiting for the champion's homecoming.
"Maybe, because I did show that I have a good chin, a lot of heart, and I can go at it."
There is a widening of the eyes as DeGale recalls the vicious fight against Jack that many assumed he was never capable of. He still favours a smile over a snarl, but through swollen lips and broken teeth, he finally looks the part.
