James DeGale will put his IBF super-middleweight title on the line again this weekend. The Brit has been in lethal form in the past few years and will now go head-to-head with Rogelio Medina.
WBC Champion Badou Jack vs. Former World Champion Lucian Bute
IBF Champion James DeGale vs. Top Contender Rogelio Medina
IBF Champion James DeGale vs. Top Contender Rogelio Medina
Winners Set To Meet In Unification Bout
Later This Year On SHOWTIME
Later This Year On SHOWTIME
A three-fight
series to crown a unified divisional champion will begin on Saturday,
April 30, when WBC 168-pound champion Badou Jack defends his title
against former longtime titlist Lucian Bute, and IBF Champion James
DeGale risks his belt against mandated challenger Rogelio Medina in a
SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING doubleheader live on SHOWTIME (10 p.m. ET/7
p.m. PT) from the DC Armory in Washington D.C.
The winners will meet in a super middleweight world-title unification fight later this year.
Jack (20-1-1, 12 KOs) will make his
second title defense after a breakthrough 2015 campaign in which he won
the WBC belt from Anthony Dirrell and successfully defended against
George Groves. The southpaw Bute (32-3, 25 KOs), a former IBF champion
with nine defenses between 2007 and 2012, revived his career last
November with a gutsy and inspired performance against DeGale.
“I’ve been training really hard for this
fight and I’m excited to get in the ring,” said Jack. “I can’t wait to
defend my title once again on April 30. The fans can expect to see an
explosive and skillful performance from me come fight night. I believe
I’m the best super middleweight in the world and that I have the skills
to beat anyone I get in the ring with. I’m fully focused on Lucian Bute,
but I know that a win can set up a massive fight against James DeGale
and I’m going to deliver.”
“I’m thrilled to have this tremendous
opportunity,” said Bute. “I was ringside for Badou Jack’s last two
fights — well deserved world title wins. He is a great champion. I plan
to train hard and be in the best shape of my career on April 30. It’s my
chance to win the WBC belt and become two-time world champion. I will
win and give boxing fans a spectacular fight.”
DeGale (22-1, 14 KOs) will make his
second title defense after an impressive 2015 in which he defeated Andre
Dirrell to win the vacant IBF belt and topped Bute in a Fight of the
Year candidate. The hard-hitting Medina (35-6, 29 KOs), the IBF’s
mandatory challenger, has knocked out three consecutive opponents.
“I am delighted to be defending my world
title on another great show in the United States,” said DeGale. “I won
my belt in style in Boston and I’m looking forward to moving down the
East Coast to the great city of Washington, D.C. It’s going to be a
defining night in the super middleweight division as Badou Jack and
myself look to set up a huge fight later in the year. I’m fully focused
on Rogelio Medina. He’s a tough Mexican who earned his title shot. But
trust me, no one is getting my world title.”
“This is such a great opportunity for me
and I can’t wait to get in the ring,” said Medina. “I’ve worked so hard
for this and I am going to make the most of it. Everyone who has seen
me fight knows I leave it all in the ring and you can expect to see an
all-out battle on April 30. I will be the new world champion.”
Tickets for the live event, which is
promoted by Mayweather Promotions and Interbox in association with
Matchroom Boxing, are priced at $200, $100, $50 and $25, and are on sale
now. To purchase tickets visit www.ticketmaster.com, Ticketmaster locations, or call (800) 745-3000.
“Mayweather Promotions is proud to bring
another exciting night of boxing to the great boxing fans in my
hometown of Washington, D.C.,” said Leonard Ellerbe, CEO of Mayweather
Promotions. “I’m really excited about the Badou Jack vs. Lucian Bute
fight. It’s going to be a great fight. We know Bute is tough as nails
and he’s coming to take the title away from Badou. Badou is going to
have to be at his best to be able to beat Bute that night. The winner of
that fight will set up a spectacular unification fight with the winner
of the fight between British champion James DeGale and Mexican brawler
‘Porky’ Medina. DeGale can’t take Medina lightly if he wants the
unification bout. It’s going to be a thrilling night of action at the DC
Armory and on SHOWTIME.”
Badou Jack “The Ripper”, of Las Vegas by
way of Stockholm, Sweden, captured the WBC 168-pound crown with a
12-round majority decision over previously unbeaten defending champion
Anthony Dirrelllast April 24. A former amateur standout who represented
Gambia in the 2008 Olympics, Jack retained his belt against former world
title challenger George Groves last Sept. 12 on the undercard of Floyd
Mayweather’s final fight. Jack, who fights under the Mayweather
Promotions banner, was an underdog against both Dirrell and Groves. The
6-foot-1, 32-year-old has won four in a row since a shocking first-round
knockout loss to Derek Edwards in February 2014.
Bute, of Montreal, Canada by way of
Romania, has been a super middleweight mainstay for the last decade. He
has competed in 12 title fights since 2007, scoring seven knockouts in
nine consecutive defenses of the IBF belt he won in 2007 in his adopted
hometown of Montreal. During his title reign, the 36-year-old defeated
the likes of Glen Johnson, Librado Andrade and Jean-Paul Mendy, but he
lost the belt to Carl Froch in 2012 and a string of injuries kept him
largely inactive over the next three years. Bute returned from a
19-month absence in August 2015 under new trainer Howard Grant, knocking
out Andrea Di Luisa to set up the title shot against DeGale for the
crown he once held. Bute stalked the switch-hitting DeGale with a
relentless attack, turning in his most impressive performance in years
in a close decision loss.
James “Chunky” DeGale, of London,
England, won the vacant IBF belt in his U.S. debut last May by dropping
Andre Dirrell twice on his way to a unanimous decision. The 2008 Olympic
Gold Medalist then successfully defended it last November in a
thrilling shootout with hometown favorite and former titlist Lucian
Bute. The 30-year-old, who’s only blemish came in a majority decision in
his 11th bout against then-unbeaten George Groves, will make his third
consecutive start outside his native England as he looks to become a
global power at 168 pounds.
Rogelio “Porky” Medina is a hard-hitting
veteran with 30 knockouts in his 36 career wins. He’s knocked out three
consecutive opponents, including a shocking third-round knockout of
then-undefeated J’Leon Love in August, 2014. Medina, 27, has suffered
six losses in 42 fights, although those defeats came against opponents
with a combined record of 187-16-3, including four previously undefeated
fighters.
