James DeGale can give a boxing lesson to Badou Jack before moving on to greater things in an early 2017 gem to savour

As DeGale's American journey takes him further and further away from old rival George Groves, another victory in the USA can really kickstart the super-middleweight division once again

James DeGale fights Badou Jack in an early boxing treat in 2017 (Getty)

In the now demolished Dale Youth gym on the ground floor of a tower block in west London there was a wall devoted to the club’s champions. It was a smiling gallery of traveller boys, all fighting kids from the huge site under the Westway, skinny kids in long red vests and a couple of others that stood out.

It was on that wall that James DeGale and George Groves faced each other for the best part of a decade, two framed pictures thrown together with both boys looking at the other across ten inches of dirty wall.

DeGale lost twice to Groves, once as an amateur and once in front of a sell-out crowd at the O2, and they are equally disputed. They went their separate ways after their second fight, winning and losing, getting exposure and getting frustrated. There is a lot of frustration in boxing, a business where you get what you negotiate and never what you deserve.

Groves is keeping his head down right now, trying to forget his last night in the ring back in November when his opponent collapsed at the end of twelve rounds and was placed in a coma after an operation to scrape a blood clot from the surface of his brain. Groves will be back, he’s still a real contender.

Since beating DeGale for a second time in 2011, Groves has lost three world title fights and each delivered its own specific heartbreak; he was stopped on his feet and leading Carl Froch back in 2013, the following year in the return he walked onto a midnight punch and was sleeping before he hit the canvas. It is possible that the third loss in a world title fight is the one that sends its demons to stop him sleeping. Groves dropped the tightest of verdicts to Badou Jack in Las Vegas in 2015 for the WBC belt at super-middleweight. This Saturday in New York, DeGale fights Jack and Groves will hate every second of it.

“It’s funny,” said DeGale. “I lost that fight and look at me now and he got the decision and look at him now.” Groves was desperately unlucky not to get the split decision verdict against Jack and DeGale nearly surrendered his lead to Andre Dirrell when he won the IBF title by coasting in the middle rounds.

The fight on Saturday will be DeGale’s third defence and with each win he moves further and further away from a third fight with Groves. All three of DeGale’s world title fights have been in America, all have gone the full twelve rounds and he is getting on with business far from the glare of publicity that once shone so intrusively on him. In 2008 DeGale won the gold medal in Beijing, possibly the greatest win by a British boxer in Olympic history, and then struggled under the hefty scrutiny that came with the precious victory. He initially stumbled to transform the amateur glory, where fights were over four rounds of just two minutes, into cold professional success and then after 18-months he won the British super-middleweight title; Groves took the title the following year in what was his 13th fight and only DeGale’s 11th.

A win in Saturday’s partial unification will move DeGale closer to something big in theory, but having two disparate sanctioning bodies pulling and pushing a fighter with demands often leads to one belt being gently jettisoned. The harsh truth is that wildly exciting, popular brawlers get to bend the flexible rules and nice boxers get lectured about their commitments. DeGale will need to put on suitable boots for his egg-shell walk if he wins.

The winner of Badou Jack (left) and James DeGale (right) will claim the IBF and WBC super-middleweight titles (Getty)

DeGale can give Jack a gentle boxing lesson, carving a careful lead from behind his educated southpaw punches and then assess the future. Jack is part of Floyd Mayweather’s woefully unimpressive boxing team and there is every chance that the retired starlet might fancy getting involved with DeGale, which would be a long-overdue serious step into proper promoting. Eddie Hearn, the man with the exclusive deal at Sky, will also be in close proximity to make sure that his boxer, Callum Smith, does not vanish from immediate contention in the victory mist.

This Saturday’s fight at the Barclays Centre in Brooklyn is quality, a little gem to savour so early in the year.