Daily Times

LONDON: Britain’s IBF super-middleweight world champion James DeGale revealed Tuesday he is set to undergo shoulder surgery but hopes to fight again by the end of the year. The 31-year-old – who won middleweight Olympic gold at the 2008 Games – said he had been suffering from the right shoulder complaint for over a year. He was injured in the run-up to his victory over Rogelio Medina in April last year and was still suffering from the problem in January’s draw with Badou Jack. “It has been a frustrating few months since I drew with Badou Jack in New York, and I had hoped to have announced my next opponent by now,” DeGale told The Daily Mirror. “But I will have surgery on my right shoulder that will mean I will be out of the ring for a while. I suffered the injury several weeks before I fought Rogelio Medina but decided to fight through the pain, as I did earlier this year against Badou Jack. I was only operating at 60 to 70 percent however and that showed against Jack. Thankfully I’ve been good enough to get away with not being at my best, but I was almost found out in New York. I will definitely be able to fight before the end of the year.”