Former Olympic champion James DeGale will fight American Brandon Gonzales on the undercard of the Carl Froch-George Groves super-middleweight title fight at Wembley on May 31, organisers announced on Thursday.
The super-middleweight contest will be a final eliminator for Froch’s IBF title, meaning the winner will subsequently be in line to next face either Froch, who is also the WBA regular champion, or Groves.
“I’m back and I’m back big,” said DeGale, who won gold for Great Britain at the 2008 Olympics. “The last year or so has been frustrating, but that’s all in the past and the future is looking extremely bright.
“The fights out there for me are crazy, but I can’t look past Brandon. He trains with Andre Ward and Amir Khan so he’s got great training and he’s a good fighter. He can do a lot of things well, so I cannot overlook him.”
Londoner DeGale, 28, has a record of 18 victories, with 12 by knockout, and one defeat — to Groves in 2011 — while 29-year-old California resident Gonzales is unbeaten with 18 wins (10 KO) and one draw.