*** DeGale suffers shock defeat | THE DAILY TRIBUNE | KINGDOM OF BAHRAIN

DeGale suffers shock defeat

LondonCaleb Truax pulled off a shock victory over James DeGale at the London Copper Box Arena.

British boxer DeGale was a heavy favourite before the bout started, with some bookmakers rating him as a 1-00 favourite.

DeGale was making his recovery from shoulder surgery in his fight since January, but was defeated 114-114 115-112 116-112 on a judges’ decision.

Truax took the IBF world super-middleweight title from De Gale, as the 34-year-old enjoyed his surprise triumph.

The defeat was only DeGale’s second of his career, and was disappointed as he spoke to BBC Radio 5 after the fight:

“I honestly did [think I’d won], I’ve got to go back to the drawing board.

“My nose is blocked again, I’ve got to sort it out. The shoulder - I had serious reconstruction - there’s no pain but I’ll have to go back, have a look and see. I’ve probably rushed back to be honest, maybe I should have waited till next year.”

Truax was bullish after pulling off his shock win, saying: “All week all I heard was who he’s going to fight next. Well guess what? Those fights are mine now.”