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DeGale against Groves will happen according to Warren

James DeGale has risked insulting George Groves after labelling him as the 'ugly ginger kid' © Getty Images

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Frank Warren has whet British boxing fans' appetite by declaring that James DeGale and George Groves will meet in the ring at some point in the future.

Relations are sour between the boxers after Groves beat the 2008 Olympic gold medallist in their amateur days - with DeGale desperate to take vengeance.

DeGale was offered £50,000 to make the fight earlier in the year but 'Chunky' refused as he considered the offer derisory.

While DeGale steps up his training for his next bout in Birmingham - as part of the Magnificent Seven show, Groves makes his American debut in Las Vegas on Saturday night.

Warren, who has promoted Ricky Hatton, Joe Calzaghe and most recently Amir Khan, is well aware of the growing clamour for the domestic match-up to take place and he fully expects the pair to meet in the ring - when the time is right.

"Yes, I look after my fighters, but never shy away of putting on big fights," he said in The Sun. "It was me who got all of the British heavyweights to fight a few years ago -- and I recently made Enzo Maccarinelli against David Haye.

"You only have to look at my Birmingham show in September to see some mouth-watering match-ups. But sometimes you have to get your timing right. At the moment, there are calls for DeGale and Groves to get it on. That's a fantastic fight, but to stage it right now with 16 fights between them would be premature. They are both big title fights in the making and 18 months down the line, all involved can make life-changing sums."

And although both fighters are unbeaten, if the two were to square up in the ring, Warren would give DeGale the edge.

"The DeGale situation is interesting. He did lose to Groves as an amateur, but that was in 2006," he added. "Two years later, DeGale turned it on when it really mattered -- the 2008 Olympics when he came back with Britain's only boxing gold. He's the man to beat and it is not the other way round. Time will definitely tell!"

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