James DeGale might not be going out on a high, as he would have wished, but he has earned his retirement AND the tributes from the great and the good. Even his long-time enemy George Groves has wished him well.
While punch-lines is largely a Northern entity, it would be amiss not to salute the 33-year-old who has hung up his gloves following a unanimous points defeat to Chris Eubank Jnr in London on Saturday.
It was only the third loss in a 29-fight career as a professional, which was highlighted by his triumph as the IBF world super-middleweight champion. That success brought him a place in the history books as the first GB Olympic gold medalist to be a pro world title holder.
This reporter recalls DeGale turning up at the White House (a local pub / restaurant in Hartlepool not Donald Trump’s gaff) not long after his Beijing glory in 2008.
You don’t see many Olympic gold medals in Hartlepool and there wasn’t a prouder Briton after his incredible achievement in China, where he was a rank outsider.
“Today marks ten years since my professional debut fight on 28th February 2009 and today is the day I am announcing my retirement from boxing.
“It’s been an unbelievable journey and I’ve had an amazing decade – if I’m honest, the best years of my life – and having started boxing at the age of nine then being selected as part of the England Amateurs squad, I’ve collected many memories along the way.
“It hard to admit that I’m not the fighter I once was, but I’m human and along the way, my injuries have taken a toll – both on mind and body and these things have contributed to impact my performance in the ring.
“I lost the fight on Saturday at The O2 but I’m touched to have a good send off from the fans in my home city.
“The day after the fight, someone said to me that one fight does not determine a legacy.
“Looking back, if someone had told me at the start of my boxing career, when I was in the England squad, that I would become an Olympic Gold Medallist, British and European Champion and Two-Time World Champion, I would never have believed them, but I did it and I’d like to think I did it the clean, honest and hard way with discipline and respect to the sport I love.
“I’m proud to say that I’ve made history as the first ever British Olympian boxer to turn professional and to win a World Title and I am also proud to have been a road warrior – to travel wherever I needed to be to fight and to win. There’s nothing left to prove. “A majority of the greats go out on loss and for me, it’s time to hang up the gloves and to move on with my head held high.”
Words: Roy Kelly Picture: Lawrence Lustig
