DeGale turns pro

on December 8, 2008 by Administrator

James DeGale, who is only 22 years of age, has signed a professional boxing contract after a successful year in the sport. He won gold in the middleweight class at the Beijing Olympics earlier this year but has spoken of his excitement at leaving the amateur world of boxing far behind him.

DeGale believes that the Amateur Boxing Association of England has “broken promises” on numerous occasions and let him, and other boxers in England, down.

The young boxer is angry that the association still owes him a “very, very big bonus” for winning gold in Beijing, and he has spoken of his shock at the threats by the ABA that they may not pay because he has decided to turn professional.

However, alongside this anger was obvious excitement at the fact that turning professional with Frank Warren, who is also responsible for promoting fellow Olympic stars, Billy Joe Saunders and Frankie Gavin, will guarantee an income of nearly two million pounds over just two years.

The financial stability brought by DeGale’s decision to turn professional has provided some consolation for the fact that the young boxer will not be able to compete in the London Olympics in 2012.

This was a major ambition of DeGale’s but the prospect of securing the financial future of his family proved too much of an attraction in the end. One individual who was certainly excited about the boxer’s decision was Frank Warren who believes that DeGale will undoubtedly become world champion in the near future.