By Danny Alvarez

In the aftermath of a see-saw battle with Badou Jack, word leaked that James DeGale’s gruesome teeth injuries didn’t really come as a result of his battle with Jack in their modern classic battle for super middleweight supremacy.

Instead -- DeGale confirmed to IFL TV -- that the injuries that had DeGale looking like a Halloween ghoul came from an apocalyptic sparring session at Muhammad Ali’s old stomping grounds at the 5th Street Gym in South Beach.

“In Miami, I boxed this mad Turkish guy [Avni “Mr. Robot” Yildirim], he came out to kill me,” DeGale said, confirming the leaked reports. “He’s unbeaten, ranked number two in the WBC, he got in there to kill me. Done in my teeth.”

Yildirim, the WBC mandatory, recently fought in Milano in a stay-busy fight, crushing Alexander Sushchyts (21-3) in a one-round demolition. Should Yildirim win the WBC strap, the two training buddies could collide in a unification fight down the road.

According to DeGale, who was sporting a brand new smile, the pair boxed for three hard-fought rounds, which was enough to shatter the Brit’s gums and put a dent in his vanity, and his pride.

“So I went to the dentist, got them sewn back in,” he added, which got him ready for the Jack unification bout. “And in the 7th round, he hit me with a hook-uppercut, licked off my teeth. I said, ‘Oh, god.’ Because I'm vain.”

Now back in the UK, with a fresh smile and his IBF title, he’s looking to get back in the ring two more times this year with some monster fights in the UK on the horizon, promoter Eddie Hearn said.

“He’s at the stage of his career right now, no bullsh*t,” Hearn said. “Date. Money. Again. Date. Money. Again. He’s got pay-per-view dates available to him for the big fights.”

Hearn said there had been preliminary talks with the Chris Eubank camp, but a deal hit an impasse when the Eubanks asked for the lion’s share of the proceeds.

“That could be a big, big fight,” Hearn said. “But he ain’t got time for time wasters.

“He’s coming up to the stage where he wants, four-five, six fights, no pull-outs, sign the contract, set the date, it’s 100 percent happening, thank you very much, on to the next one.

“People like Chris Eubank make George Groves look like a saint to negotiate with. George Groves used to be the most painful man to do a deal with. Now it’s Chris Eubank Jr. It’s still a little bit close.”

Danny Alvarez is a Miami-based sportswriter.