Olympic gold was better than being British champion - DeGale
PA
In an interview with MSN Sport's Rob Jones Olympic champion James DeGale said that his proudest moment was in Beijing in 2008, "I've had a couple of moments; winning the British title within nine fights, getting my MBE, but the Olympic gold medal is probably the one."
Watch MSN Sport's Rob Jones takes on Olympic gold medalist James DeGale in his East London gym.
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The 25-year-old, nicknamed 'Chunky', would recommend any boxer to go down the Olympic route, "To be an Olympian is unbelievable. To go the Olympics and win a gold medal for your country is fantastic. Dream come true. I was dead proud."
DeGale was confident that one of Britain's young talents could emulate his triumph of four years ago, "There's a couple of good fighters. There's Khalid Yafai - he lost in his first fight in the last Olympics, but he's a good talented fighter. There's Danny Price (heavyweight), Tom Stalker, so I've got faith that we will come back with a couple of gold medals this time."
However, southpaw switchhitter says he had to learn a lot when he switched to professional boxing, "Professional boxing and amateur boxing are totally different sports. Amateur boxing is more like you're fencing. It's more like a game. Whereas professional boxing you're looking to hurt someone and looking to take them out."
James DeGale was talking to MSN Sport as an ambassador of the Microsoft Kinect Sports.
Fascinating facts about Olympic boxing
- An Olympic Boxing glove weighs 284 grams (10 ounces). During the Games, competitors will get through 432 pairs of gloves.
- Amateur boxers are not allowed to box past the age of 34.
- Boxing featured at the St Louis 1904 Olympic Games because of its local popularity in the southern United States. Women competed as well as men - the only time they have ever taken part in Boxing at the Games, until the decision to include women's events at London 2012.
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