Nearly 12 months after James DeGale fought Badou Jack to a draw, the IBF super middleweight champion is set to return to the ring and defend his title.
DeGale will defend his IBF title on December 9 at the Copper Box Arena against an opponent to be named. It will be the first time DeGale headlines a card at the venue and the fight will be shown live in the United Kingdom on BT Sport.
The card is not finalized, but it is loaded with big British boxing names. IBF featherweight champion Lee Selby will also fight on the Copper Box Arena card against an opponent to be named. Rising undefeated contender Anthony Yarde will defend his WBO Intercontinental light heavyweight title against Nikola Sjekloca and highly touted heavyweight prospect Daniel Dubois will compete in his sixth professional fight.
DeGale's last time in the ring saw him fight a brutal and entertaining fight against Jack in a IBF/WBC super middleweight unification fight. The fight ended in a majority draw and each fighter retained their respective titles. DeGale needed to have surgery on his shoulder as a result of the fight and needed to heal several other minor injuries.
There is no word on if the United States will air the fight. DeGale's fight against Jack headlined a Barclays Center card that was televised live on Showtime. DeGale has held the title since 2015, when he beat Andre Dirrell to win the then-vacant belt.