i'm pretty sure fury and degale will fight on the same bill. i can't see them fighting separately. if the viewing figures have been dropping, that will be due to the opponents of fury. with him now getting in the ring with better opposition, i'm sure the figures will rise again. throw degale in the mix, you have a good night of boxing with figures i'm sure will be healthy.
Good move imo, for fans and DeGale.....at the end of thay he's a knobber, but a likeable one! (Ish) He will benefit from this and get the fans back on side!
It's possible, if he starts acting the same way he did in the Groves build up again, he will have millions hate him instead of thousands, he hasn't got the charm or intelligence of a Chris Eubank to pull the bad guy routine off, it's make or break for James.
His unlikable attitude could work for him. How many people tuned in to see Hamed and Eubank lose? Annoying people get audiences, look at 'Jedward', Jade Goody, Katie Price....
Fury's fights have regurlarly pulled over 2m I'm sure I read, on channel 5. Think even Kid Galahad has pulled over a million - ratings wise more people will see the fighters on 5 than sky and boxnation put together. Think its a good move for DeGale - he's a bit of a crossover star (the type that a lot of people like to hate simialr to what Nas was) already (olympic gold medalist/tv celeb) so add to that keep winning on terrestial TV he will do big ratings I think.
It's a good move for DeGale. He just needs some PR training, or better still just keep his mouth shut.
He's also witty, puts it all out there when he fights, and has achieved a lot more than James ever will. James isn't charismatic enough to pull off the bad boy routine.
If DeGale gets the right fights, people will forget about the other stuff. Most important thing is that he keeps him busy.
And he was undefeated having followed the traditional route to that title bout. He could afford to be a little cocky.