James DeGale vs. Chris Eubank Jr. Set For February 23 In London
British stars James DeGale and Chris Eubank Jr. will have a grudge match next month at the O2 Arena.
Both DeGale and Eubank will fight in the main event of a boxing card at the London venue on February 23. The fight will be shown on ITV Box Office in the United Kingdom. According to the ITV Box Office website, the fight will be for the vacant IBO super middleweight title.
— @jamesdegale1 and @ChrisEubankJr will fight live on ITV Box Office at London’s O2 on the 23rd February
To watch the press conference LIVE now head to:https://t.co/9azP78H3BM or https://t.co/qC8gbHJN1l pic.twitter.com/JXlZX2bPWc
— ITV Box Office (@ITVBoxing) January 3, 2019
The fight is the first in ITV’s multi-year broadcast deal with Premier Boxing Champions. The deal calls for PBC shows in the United States be shown in the United Kingdom, but DeGale vs. Eubank is the first event in the deal that takes place in the UK. As of this writing, there is no announcement on if the fight will be shown in the United States and if so, what network will broadcast the fight.
Eubank, a former IBO super middleweight champion, was eliminated from the World Boxing Super Series 168-pound tournament in the semifinals in February 2018 when he lost to then-WBA champion George Groves. Since then, Eubank, the son of legendary British fighter Chris Eubank Sr., won a fight against JJ McDonagh on the undercard of the World Boxing Super Series finals in Saudi Arabia in September.
DeGale has not fought in a title fight since reclaiming the IBF super middleweight title this past April when he defeated Caleb Truax in a rematch. DeGale later vacated the title due to wanting big fights, allowing Jose Uzcategui to be elevated from interim titleholder to full world champion.
