James DeGale has admitted that his long-running rivalry with George Groves still makes him "cringe" when he watches footage of it back, as the former two-time world champion prepares to return to the ring this month against Marcus Portman.
DeGale and Groves, both from London, fought a bitter war of words that spilled over into a 2011 grudge match, which Groves won by split decision at The O2 Arena in London. The pair are still regularly asked to revisit the feud on the Sky Sports show "Ringside."
Reflecting on old footage of the clashes, DeGale said: "It's a classic. I cringe when I watch that, but it's a classic. That's me at the age of 25. Brash, cocky, [wearing] Dolce and Gabbana. It's raw, thinking I was the man, but that's just a part of my journey."
DeGale, 40, won Olympic gold in 2008 and went on to become a two-time world super-middleweight champion. He beat Andre Dirrell to claim the IBF title in Boston in 2015 and defeated Lucian Bute in Quebec, before fighting to a draw with Badou Jack in New York.
DeGale on his legacy
Despite that record, DeGale fears he is remembered mainly for his defeats to Groves and Chris Eubank Jnr on British soil, rather than for the quality of the opponents he beat elsewhere.
"That Groves one was close. I can't argue. A lot of people thought I won. A lot of people thought he won," DeGale said. "And then the Eubank one was just a mess."
"That's probably why the fans don't see me as one of the best, because of my losses against British opponents, but they don't realise that I had better wins than them," he added.
DeGale argued that Dirrell, a bronze medallist at the Olympic Games who beat Carl Froch without getting the decision, would have beaten both Groves and Eubank Jnr. "Let's be real, Dirrell was a quality amateur," he said. "He beat Carl Froch but didn't get the decision, it was close though. He was a bronze medallist in the Olympic Games, he would have beaten George and Chris."
He also pointed to Bute's 13 title defences and his own "war" with Jack, as well as wins over Marco Antonio Periban, Rogelio Medina Luna and Brandon Gonzalez, as evidence his record outstrips his British rivals.
Comeback fight in Wolverhampton
DeGale is coming out of retirement to face Marcus Portman in Wolverhampton on September 26, more than seven years after his last fight, a defeat to Eubank Jnr in which he says injuries severely hampered his performance. The bout forms part of ShowFighter's Reign Boxing series.
Fury vs Joshua
DeGale also urged Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua to finally agree to fight each other, describing Britain's biggest domestic heavyweight rivalry as a "mess" mired in politics. Fury and Joshua are both former world heavyweight champions, and a meeting between them has been mooted for years without materialising. The Principality Stadium in Cardiff and Wembley Stadium in London are among the venues being considered for a potential fight in December.
"It's egos, boxing politics. I'm not too sure, it's a bit of a mess," DeGale said when asked about the Fury vs Joshua saga. "You would think it would be in England, a nice farewell for AJ and Fury. It looks like they are coming to the end now."
"Get a £100m each and then run, say 'thank you, you've been brilliant,' and then later," he added.
