James DeGale vs. Chris Eubank Jr: the controversial PCI belt will be in play

James DeGale and Chris Eubank Jr will have controversy over the IBO World Super Middleweight title in their grueling match at the O2 Arena on February 23rd.

Many fans believe that the beloved belt is less credible than those offered by the four major organizations – WBO, WBA, WBC and IBF.

Eubank Jr won the belt in February 2017 with a victory over Renold Quinlan. This position has remained vacant since his defeat against George Groves, who subsequently dropped the belt instead of paying penalty fees.

He will now attempt to win back the crown and will face former IBF champion DeGale, who has left the much more prestigious strap to embark on an all-British battle.

The president of the governing body of the IBO, Ed Levine, confirmed the news in these terms: "I am very pleased with the upcoming IBO World Title competition between James DeGale and Chris Eubank Jr.

"I think it's the most intriguing match of the super middleweight division at the moment, and I'll be delighted to see one or the other of the fighters becoming the IBO world champion, because they will have deserved it the hard way.

"Fights like DeGale and Eubank Jr are the fights that fans want to see, and we want to have competitions for IBO titles."

Meanwhile, the fight was resumed by Showtime for live coverage in the United States.

The fight is taking place at ITV Box Office in the UK, but the US broadcasters have got the rights to show the map on the other side of the pond.