Until he scored easily the biggest upset of 2017, few had ever heard of Caleb Truax. If they had, it was most likely because of his three career losses that had come against his most significant opponents.
There was a clear-cut 10-round decision loss to former undisputed middleweight world champion Jermain Taylor in 2012, although Truax did score a knockdown.
There was a 12th-round knockout loss when challenging then-secondary middleweight titlist Daniel Jacobs in 2015.
And, two fights later, came the worst night of Truax's career. He moved up to super middleweight and got annihilated by former titleholder Anthony Dirrell in the first round in a fight that Truax probably never should have accepted. It came only a few days after his girlfriend, Michelle, had suffered bleeding on her brain during the birth of their daughter, Gia.
To most, Truax was nothing more than a hard-working journeyman with little chance for any serious ring success. But then came his magical night, Dec. 9 at the Copper Box Arena in London, where he traveled as the hand-picked and supposedly walkover opponent for then-super middleweight world titleholder James DeGale in a homecoming defense.
DeGale, a 2008 Olympic gold medalist, had been a road warrior, winning his 168-pound title in 2015 in Boston, followed by defenses in Quebec City, Washington, D.C. and Brooklyn, New York. He wanted to go home to fight and his handlers matched him with Truax in what was supposed to be an easy night at the office.
It was anything but.
Truax was prepared and focused and fought the fight of his life. In the end he got a well-deserved majority decision -- 116-112, 115-112 and 114-114 -- to claim the title in a gargantuan upset. Consider it the Buster Douglas-Mike Tyson upset of the super middleweight division.
Truax was filled with a quiet confidence going into the fight.
"I felt like I was going to win the whole time, but a lot of people said it was one of the biggest upsets in British boxing history," Truax said this week. "It still hasn't really sunk in. Nothing has really changed. I'm a busier man, but I still keep it really low-key."
Now they are set to do it again with Truax giving DeGale an immediate rematch on Saturday (Showtime, 10 p.m. ET) at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, where each will be boxing for the first time.
"As far as I know, I'm still an underdog for this fight. A lot of people think I was a fluke the first time around, so it's up to me to prove them wrong. I'm ready to silence the critics and silence DeGale."
Caleb Truax
The card is headlined by Jarrett Hurd (21-0, 15 KOs), 27, of Accokeek, Maryland, and Erislandy Lara (25-2-2, 14 KOs), 34, a Cuban defector fighting out of Miami, Florida, squaring off to unify their junior middleweight world titles. In the opening bout, Julian "J-Rock'' Williams (24-1-1, 15 KOs), 27, of Philadelphia, and Nathaniel Gallimore (20-1-1, 17 KOs), 29, a Jamaica native, will meet in a junior middleweight world title elimination fight.
The result of the December fight came as such a shocker that there are many who will need to see Truax win a second time before he gets any credit for the initial result. Naturally, he is a big underdog again.
"As far as I know, I'm still an underdog for this fight," he said. "A lot of people think I was a fluke the first time around, so it's up to me to prove them wrong. I'm ready to silence the critics and silence DeGale."
DeGale faced Truax coming off an 11-month layoff after a savage draw in a 2017 fight of the year candidate with Badou Jack. DeGale suffered various injuries in the title unification fight and even had a tooth knocked out. The major injury was to his shoulder, including a rotator cuff tear and damage to his joint.
Before the December fight, DeGale (23-2-1, 14 KOs), a 32-year-old southpaw, proclaimed his shoulder fully healed. Now he says he came back from the injury too quickly, and it was a factor in his defeat.
"When the doctor told me that some athletes recover from that injury in six months, I had it set in my mind that I would box again in December," DeGale said. "No one was going to tell me otherwise. I rushed my injury, and I wasn't at my full fitness. I can only blame myself.
"My mindset at the time was that I can beat Truax with no hands. It was the wrong way to think. I'm an elite fighter and this is a dangerous sport. I've only got myself to blame. This time, I'm going to make it right. My training is like night and day compared to last camp. On my best day, no one in this division can beat me. No disrespect to Caleb Truax, but I'm a much better fighter. Now I'm training how I should have trained for the last fight."
The 34-year-old Truax (29-3-2, 18 KOs), an Osseo, Minnesota, native and University of Minnesota graduate (sociology major), who used some of his fight purses to pay off student loans, is a tad offended by DeGale's change of tune.
"Truax has tasted what it's like to be a world champion. He's going to be hungry and have that burning desire to beat me. At the end of the day, I'm just too good for him and I'm going to prove it. I have to make a statement."
James DeGale
"I think DeGale has been making excuses," Truax said. "He couldn't stop talking about how great his shoulder felt heading into our first fight. Then right after the fight he said he felt fine. Now I guess he came back too early.
"I think DeGale overlooked me last time, and I think he's doing it again this time. I see him already talking about fighting (world titleholders) David Benavidez and George Groves. Did he not learn his lesson the first time? I think his injury talk is an excuse, as well. He said his arm and shoulder felt fine heading into and immediately after the fight last December. I don't believe any of that injury talk. It means nothing to me."
Rather than focus on DeGale's reasons for the loss, Truax said he has simply spent his time trying to improve and be in great shape for the rematch.
"I took his belt, and I know he's going to come back hungry," he said. "I expect him to give it his all to get it back. There were plenty of things that I had to improve on after the first fight. I've had four months to really dig down and prepare for this fight. I've known the rematch was coming, and I've been able to get ready.
"The great thing about the last fight is that I came out of it with no injuries. I was back in the gym before Christmas. Normally I only have about six weeks to prepare for an opponent. But this time around, we knew who we were coming back for and had a long time to prepare. I plan on applying pressure and seeing how he reacts. If he doesn't adjust, then I don't see it going any different than the first fight. I'm real confident I'm going to stop James DeGale this time."
DeGale said his shoulder is in perfect health now and that he intends to show it.
"I'm injury-free now and physically ready for this fight. Most importantly, I'm mentally ready for this challenge, and I can't wait to get in the ring," DeGale said. "I learned that you can't rush fitness. I had a reconstructive surgery and I came back far too quick. I learned my lesson the hard way. Now I have to get it back the hard way. Caleb Truax is not on my level. I'm miles above him. I'm going to show everyone why and show everyone what I'm all about.
"Truax has tasted what it's like to be a world champion. He's going to be hungry and have that burning desire to beat me. At the end of the day, I'm just too good for him, and I'm going to prove it. I have to make a statement."
Truax, as he did in December, might have a lot to say about that.
http://www.espn.com/boxing/story/_/id/23037690/still-underdog-caleb-truax-vows-repeat-upset-james-degale
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