DeGale will bid to answer critics in Belfast

OLYMPIC gold medallist James DeGale will bid to silence the boo boys when he makes his second professional appearance in Belfast.

SLOW START: James DeGale will make his second pro appearance in Belfast after sluggish debut (Getty Images)

The 22-year-old will again be joined by fellow former Great Britain boxers Frankie Gavin and Billy Joe Saunders on the undercard of Martin Rogan's Commonwealth heavyweight title in May.

All three won their first professional fights at the NIA in Birmingham at the end of last month but DeGale came in for criticism after he was taken the distance by little-known Georgian Vepkhia Tchilaia.

"I believe in all three of these guys, I think they are tremendous," said promoter Frank Warren.

"I'm confident that in the next 18 months they are going to have titles under their belts, maybe not world titles but certainly at a stage where they are going to have titles around their waists.

"They all have the pedigree to do that and they have already beaten the best in the world at amateur level.

"If they go to Northern Ireland and do the business they will leave with the crowd cheering."

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Gavin stopped George Kadaria in four rounds and Saunders secured a second-round win over Attila Molnar.