Degale fights this weekend

by **Seanusarrilius** Wed 18 Apr 2012, 12:05 pm

Strange to say this, but there is almost no coverage of this. Is Degale flying under the radar on purpose or just being ignored as he is trying to leave Warren?

Looking at his opponent and the fact it is in Denmark (so should be stopped when Degale lands 3 unanswered jabs) I would go for Degale pts or very late TKO. He has not a great deal of power, but if he wears Cristian Sanavia down.

How do you see it going?

by AlexHuckerby Wed 18 Apr 2012, 12:08 pm

Christ barely even knew, defeat is a disaster, to put it bluntly. Not all too sure about his opponent but he seems solid enough.

by **Seanusarrilius** Wed 18 Apr 2012, 12:11 pm

He can't lose this. He needs to start building momemtum and quickly. Fighters like degale have to wiin fight s and impressively because no one really likes him. Groves is popular so even if he lst, most of us would wish him well and tune in. Degale was sucha a bufoon in his first incarnation that he needs ot go on about his business now and chalk up some decent wins. The promotion for this fight has been non existent though from what I have seen, scowling the net

by Steffan Wed 18 Apr 2012, 12:17 pm

The only thing I know about DeGale is.....HES CHUNKY. HES CHUNKY. HES CHUNKY

Nah good luck to him he has the talent lets hope a feud with Warren doesnt derail his career

by **Seanusarrilius** Wed 18 Apr 2012, 12:19 pm

I think he can do well, but he has to face some realities about his past performances and adjust.

by AlexHuckerby Wed 18 Apr 2012, 12:20 pm

Yeah you have to think the little promotion on this fight is due to him and Warren exchanging words.

by **88Chris05** Wed 18 Apr 2012, 12:24 pm

Big, big fight for DeGale and his career, with a lot riding on it. Perhaps, then, this sudden lack of attention and media coverage will be a blessing in disguise?

Have seen nothing of Sanavia aside from some very paltry scraps, but his record suggests he's a solid, seasoned pro. I'm alarmed at how many amateur mistakes and habits are still creeping in to DeGale's work, but reading a recent interview with him in Boxing News he states that he's hardly been out of the gym since last fighting six months back, so there should at least be an improvement on these, if not total eradication.

by **Seanusarrilius** Wed 18 Apr 2012, 12:42 pm

88Chris05 wrote:Big, big fight for DeGale and his career, with a lot riding on it. Perhaps, then, this sudden lack of attention and media coverage will be a blessing in disguise?

Have seen nothing of Sanavia aside from some very paltry scraps, but his record suggests he's a solid, seasoned pro. I'm alarmed at how many amateur mistakes and habits are still creeping in to DeGale's work, but reading a recent interview with him in Boxing News he states that he's hardly been out of the gym since last fighting six months back, so there should at least be an improvement on these, if not total eradication.

I am looking for improvement tooo Chris, is talking a lot about his defense, so maybe that will have tightened up

by Valero's Conscience Wed 18 Apr 2012, 1:23 pm

He's far too infrequent for a up and coming boxer, he needs to be fighting 4 times a year at this level not twice

by **Seanusarrilius** Wed 18 Apr 2012, 1:27 pm

Agreed, problem with him and Groves is they are both hyped early in their careers. So instead of quietly working their way up the rankings,t hey are both in situations where they're on the cusp of world level opp that they are not ready for. So they end up treading water. That and Groves "injuries" and Degales promotional probs. Both are not fighting nearly enough

by manos de piedra Wed 18 Apr 2012, 1:55 pm

I think activity is only relevant to opposition. If your just being undermatched then in all liklhood you will be better off having top sparring rather than poor opposition.

Somebody like Groves isnt very inactive but when he is matched he is matched well against guys like Anderson, de Gale and Smith. Better that the fighting once a month against unmotivated and overmatched journeymen.

by **Seanusarrilius** Wed 18 Apr 2012, 1:59 pm

Is the lack of general interest in boxing palying it's part? Eubank junior hasn't fought much cos Hennesy has no cards and is prob too scared another promoter would whisper in his ear if he let him go fight on another show

by AlexHuckerby Wed 18 Apr 2012, 2:22 pm

Would also say that Eubank Jr has been matched hard, generally speaking, Allison was a tough fight and worth a month training camp at the very least.

Groves has fought Adamu Anderson Degale and Smith... That is a good list of wins, number of fights doesn't judge where you are in your career its your opposition and if you're facing tough opposition you don't fight as much put simply.

by **Seanusarrilius** Wed 18 Apr 2012, 2:43 pm

Agree that Eubank is being matched hard, but he needs to be matched far more often. He is learnign his trade. Only had 26 amateur fights too, I think.

by tunes666 Wed 18 Apr 2012, 6:17 pm

Well Warren is his promotor so obviously is not promoting him until its clear whats going on.

Which in its self is a sign Degale should get out, as Warren clearly does not regard Degales career important enough to keep the ball rolling even when things are un decided... then again maybe Degale has chosen to keep a low profile.

Cristian Sanavia is not an easy fight, very experienced and was world champ... that being said he is getting on a bit and you would think Degale should do the job.

He is experienced and tough Euro opposition like Degales last opponent.

Degale was a bit flat footed in his last fight which is unlike him, he got caught a few times because of this.

I think if he moves on his feet more and does not try to scrap, then he should win by mid to late stoppage...

if he scraps then it might be another hard fight which would go too close for his liking..

I am hoping that his issues with Warren have not effected him as if he comes in unfocused he may well lose the fight as the fight is not a walk in the park and is away from home.

by The Galveston Giant Wed 18 Apr 2012, 7:26 pm

Think his style is ok going forward against lesser opposition, decent pressure fighters will tag him though, he's not Floyd Mayweather yet, would be happy to see him lose, in saying that he's went awfully quiet, maybe he's learned from his mistakes, i'll wait until i hear him speak again.

by tunes666 Wed 18 Apr 2012, 10:08 pm

The Galveston Giant wrote:Think his style is ok going forward against lesser opposition, decent pressure fighters will tag him though, he's not Floyd Mayweather yet, would be happy to see him lose, in saying that he's went awfully quiet, maybe he's learned from his mistakes, i'll wait until i hear him speak again.

I think allot of it was over confidence. He would come forward and it was easy... once he went against some other fighters with a better attack, he found out he cant be so cocky and has to work harder.

This being said against Groves he did come back into the fight after he found him self a couple rounds down.. and likewise against PW he came back and outboxed him.

I think he needs to come into the ring more afraid and focused.

As for his persona, he is just not the sharpest tool in the box, but sold the fight well, he just does not have the romance some other boxers have. I think he is probably a nice enough bloke personally.

by The Galveston Giant Wed 18 Apr 2012, 10:17 pm

He is probably a totally different person behind closed doors.

by mikeymax71 Thu 19 Apr 2012, 8:20 am

Well you would have to point the finger at his dispute with Warren for the non existent publicity. However, the only way for him to become a talking point again is by performing it in the ring.

I would also say I think Grove and Degale have boxed at a far higher level of competition for fighters who have barely had a dozen fights a piece. You only have to look at JCC Jr to see how you can have a padded record of nothing fights that do little to improve his skillset.

Also going slightly off the point but as he was mentioned in an earlier post on this thread, was anyone else as impressed with Eubank Jr as I was astonished at his arsenal of punches for a 3 fight novice. His combinations, punch picking and a good jab to head and body was impressive. Yes he got caught a few times and needs to work on pacing himself a little better but a lot of raw talent to work with.

by tunes666 Sat 21 Apr 2012, 6:31 pm

Seanusarrilius wrote:Groves is popular so even if he lst, most of us would wish him well and tune in.

?

I think popular is not the word as he would hardly sell out anywhere him self.

And when Anderson nearly beat him after that fight many wrote him off..

The bottom line is Degale is ahead of schedule anyway so it even if he looses, he fights for the British title again and who is going to beat him?

Both fighters will get world title shots at some stage even if they loose 1 or 2 fights before then..

by Strongback Sun 22 Apr 2012, 9:12 am

I have to say I didn't see anything in DeGale last night to make me think he is making great improvements. He fought a very short 40 year old Italian, nothing proved there.

Let's see him move up to take on a fringe world class fighter in the next 12 months.

by tunes666 Sun 22 Apr 2012, 10:22 am

Strongback wrote:I have to say I didn't see anything in DeGale last night to make me think he is making great improvements. He fought a very short 40 year old Italian, nothing proved there.

Let's see him move up to take on a fringe world class fighter in the next 12 months.

The fact he is 37 yo mandatory defense, and you call him a 40 yo very short Italian tells me you don't like Degale very much.

Degale was very solid, still clipped once or twice but had the guys number in the end.

He was back to moving more on his feet, power still under rated. The fact your calling for him to fight a fringe world class fighter after 12 pro fights shows that he has allot of tallent.. For me Sanavia under rated Degale power and thought he could walk through him and got that wrong.

I was expecting him to win but not so easy. Good performance. I would like to see him fight a couple more varied fights at this level and work on his defense a little more and then go for a world shot.

by WHU_Champo_League_in_7Yrs Sun 22 Apr 2012, 10:32 am

His defence still looks pretty shaky. At times he looks class, moving his Philly shell guard with the punches making them glance. But sometimes he just stands still and got tagged by a couple of heavy punches by a guy who was made to measure from him. The stoppage was a bit weird too. 2 out of the 4 knockdowns could have been slips and the other 2 didn't look that bad. His legs just gave way.

Deale also should have been counted as he would have hit the floor if it weren't for The ropes. He got caught napping and although not hurt his balance was very poor

by The Galveston Giant Sun 22 Apr 2012, 11:45 am

If that's the best mandatory they had to offer then Degale doesn't have much to worry about.

by The Galveston Giant Sun 22 Apr 2012, 11:56 am

Punch resistance was gone Alma, pretty light shots that finished him.

by bellchees Sun 22 Apr 2012, 12:28 pm

Just watched the fight. Is it only me who thought nothing landed for the 1st knockdown? Degale throws an uppercut that glances the other guys gloves and he falls to the floor about a second later, looked very dodgy. Other than that Degale got hit a bit too often against such an average opponent and he needs a few more fights at this fringe European level before stepping up to fringe world level contenders. I worry anyone with genuine power might knock him out at the moment.

by Strongback Sun 22 Apr 2012, 1:09 pm

tunes666 wrote:
Strongback wrote:I have to say I didn't see anything in DeGale last night to make me think he is making great improvements. He fought a very short 40 year old Italian, nothing proved there.

Let's see him move up to take on a fringe world class fighter in the next 12 months.

The fact he is 37 yo mandatory defense, and you call him a 40 yo very short Italian tells me you don't like Degale very much.

Degale was very solid, still clipped once or twice but had the guys number in the end.

He was back to moving more on his feet, power still under rated. The fact your calling for him to fight a fringe world class fighter after 12 pro fights shows that he has allot of tallent.. For me Sanavia under rated Degale power and thought he could walk through him and got that wrong.

I was expecting him to win but not so easy. Good performance. I would like to see him fight a couple more varied fights at this level and work on his defense a little more and then go for a world shot.

I would consider DeGale a fringe world class fighter so lets see him in with that kind of company in the near future. Within 30 seconds of seeing Sanavia I knew the fight wouldn't last long, as a fan I was looking at a total mismatch. Beating an over the hill very short fighter is just padding in DeGales record. The fight proved nothing.

by tunes666 Sun 22 Apr 2012, 1:28 pm

Strongback wrote:
tunes666 wrote:
Strongback wrote:I have to say I didn't see anything in DeGale last night to make me think he is making great improvements. He fought a very short 40 year old Italian, nothing proved there.

Let's see him move up to take on a fringe world class fighter in the next 12 months.

The fact he is 37 yo mandatory defense, and you call him a 40 yo very short Italian tells me you don't like Degale very much.

Degale was very solid, still clipped once or twice but had the guys number in the end.

He was back to moving more on his feet, power still under rated. The fact your calling for him to fight a fringe world class fighter after 12 pro fights shows that he has allot of tallent.. For me Sanavia under rated Degale power and thought he could walk through him and got that wrong.

I was expecting him to win but not so easy. Good performance. I would like to see him fight a couple more varied fights at this level and work on his defense a little more and then go for a world shot.

I would consider DeGale a fringe world class fighter so lets see him in with that kind of company in the near future. Within 30 seconds of seeing Sanavia I knew the fight wouldn't last long, as a fan I was looking at a total mismatch. Beating an over the hill very short fighter is just padding in DeGales record. The fight proved nothing.

I think after 13 pro fights and people saying needs to be knocking on world level door, says allot about his ability.

I think he needs to get about 15-16 pro fights under his belt and let the guy learn a bit more fighting experienced Euro level fighters as you need more fights to iron out weekness's and short comings. If you just jump into world level, then they will all be spotted at once.

Last night he fought an experienced Euro level fighter who was also an ex world champ, who yes is getting on a bit. If Degale was not on his game there could have potentially been trouble in this fight But that did not happen, Degale brushed him aside and hence done the maximum he could.

How comes that does not prove anything? For me it proves that he is able to convincingly beat euro level fighters as he did British level... That being said fights like Groves and PW came a little too soon IMO.

But If a boxer can only prove him self by beating or competing well with a world level fighter, then that in its self says something about the fighter.

I think maybe allot of people want him to rush into a world level fight because they know its pushing things maybe a bit unnecessary quick.

Its also worth noting that this was Degales first pro fight out of the UK and during obvious issues with his business affairs.

by azania Sun 22 Apr 2012, 7:03 pm

Degale did what he had to do and did it well. I always said Groves would go further than he would. But I'm having second thoughts. JDG is the man it seems. He would comfortably win a rematch as he seems to have a more varied skillset. Pity he is such a bell end tough.

by tunes666 Sun 22 Apr 2012, 7:20 pm

Oh and did anyone else notice his "he's chunky, he's chunky" walk in tune was dropped?

Can't say I miss it Smile

I don't think his silence is only to do with warren. I think he is aware his PR has been pretty poor and is just trying to let the W's do the talking for now, which is wise.
From the outside it looks like he is getting advice and maybe leaving warren is apart of that advice?
Could he be being snapped up?

by Reborn-DeeMcK-Reborn Sun 22 Apr 2012, 8:32 pm

Khan had an ex world champ to beat in the form of Barrera at an early stage and DeGale had an even worse belt holder who was disadvantaged in almost every way, height, speed, footwork etc.

Don't let the result fool ya. The only credible thing was he travelled for the fight which I always love to see from a home fighter. I think he has the tools to go far and the lack of him talking in the build up to this fight was a good thing too. Let's hope he just fights, improves and keeps quiet.

Paul Smith, Groves and Anderson would have beaten that old fella last night. It wasn't much of a challenge

by AlexHuckerby Sun 22 Apr 2012, 9:00 pm

To be honest the oppoent wasn't the greatest ever, but was enough to pose something and Degale answered rather well in my opinion.

Good performance.

by azania Sun 22 Apr 2012, 9:13 pm

If some of you guys had your way boxing would be even more marginalised than it already is. DeGale should continue with the trash talking to promote himself and get his names up there. Look at how quiet he was and how this fight virtually flew under the radar. If he continues being the bell end at least he'll make headlines and get people talking. Being humble doesn't sell. Its bad for boxing.

The sport needs larger than life personalities.

by KingMonkey Sun 22 Apr 2012, 9:39 pm

Trash talking is fine to a point but this fella is just thick and there's a lot of difference.

by azania Sun 22 Apr 2012, 10:25 pm

No-one is going to confuse him for a rocket scientist but a silent and humble boxer will consign our sport to a more marginalised sport. I want to see more characters. Degale is road crash funny.

by alanqlm Mon 23 Apr 2012, 12:50 am

Ok I am by no means De Gales biggest fan but seriously what is peoples problem.... He was just having his 13th fight and was defending a European title against his mandatory.... He did not pick this opponent and Im pretty certain that people on here (can't remember exactly who) were mentioning this could be a difficult night for him.

He comes out and breezes through the defence and immediately people are criticising him for his opponent not being very good and him not fighting a world ranked opponent?????

Once again I repeat his 13th fight!!!! He is still a novice for goodness sake and I reckon you will struggle to find many British fighters or many fighters full stop with a better list of fights so early....

Ok he was a complete tool before the Groves fight and a couple of others...... His 'He's Chunky' ring enterance and idiotic poise after fights were cringeworthy beyond belief but why not give the guy a chance instead of looking to tear him down when he is only getting started.

by Soldier_Of_Fortune Mon 23 Apr 2012, 10:01 am

He has only go himself to blame for peoples over expectations of him (being fair the pundits didn't do him much help either, especially in the lead up to the Groves fight where they suggested he has to turn up to win!).

His persona made him a marked man, the second he lost to Groves, his aura had left him with people questioning his abilities again.

Not sure with the ins and out to what happened with Warren but him making a mandatory defence in Denmark says it all really.

I think he should play Warren at his own game, make his title defences, keep his head down, not make any stupid statements and comments and see his contract out (and learn how to jab!).

He is still young and has time on his side. I think he needs time for people to forget about the whole Groves debacle and rebuild again.

by **hampo17** Mon 23 Apr 2012, 11:06 am

alanqlm wrote:Ok I am by no means De Gales biggest fan but seriously what is peoples problem.... He was just having his 13th fight and was defending a European title against his mandatory.... He did not pick this opponent and Im pretty certain that people on here (can't remember exactly who) were mentioning this could be a difficult night for him.

He comes out and breezes through the defence and immediately people are criticising him for his opponent not being very good and him not fighting a world ranked opponent?????

Once again I repeat his 13th fight!!!! He is still a novice for goodness sake and I reckon you will struggle to find many British fighters or many fighters full stop with a better list of fights so early....

Ok he was a complete tool before the Groves fight and a couple of others...... His 'He's Chunky' ring enterance and idiotic poise after fights were cringeworthy beyond belief but why not give the guy a chance instead of looking to tear him down when he is only getting started.

I think you should lay of the punctuation buttons Laugh

I've said it about a lot of fighters that you can only beat what's infront of you and he did that very well, he still gets caught with punches he shouldn't though and I have a slight concern of what someone with real power could do if they caught him.

He's one of these guys who knows how to sell fights, David Haye and Floyd Mayweather are masters of it, come across as complete morons but away from the camera I would bet they are quite nice blokes, Degale certainly is. Met him at the Khan vs Barerra fight in Manchester, had loads of time for the fans and was an all round top guy.

by alanqlm Mon 23 Apr 2012, 2:41 pm

I think your probably right. Old laptop had dodgy buttons and think I just got used to having to press them a million times to get any punctuation, the pit falls of up grades.

I completely agree he does get caught a bit too often but just bugs me that he is getting criticised so heavily for not fighting world level fighters so soon. Seems to be an inbuilt British trait that we want anybody who tries to build themselves up to fall flat on their face.

by Rowley Mon 23 Apr 2012, 4:21 pm

Have not seen the fight but credit where it is due, he obviously has issues ongoing outside the ring with his management team and fighting away from home is never easy. On the back of his pretty moronic conduct in the run up to the Groves fight and less than sporting reaction to the loss many, myself included were saying the best thing he could do was keep his head down and look to get some results and performances in the ring under his belt to improve his image, given this appears to be exactly what he has done at the weekend I for one will not be criticising the guy.

by Reborn-DeeMcK-Reborn Mon 23 Apr 2012, 6:25 pm

hampo171 wrote:
alanqlm wrote:Ok I am by no means De Gales biggest fan but seriously what is peoples problem.... He was just having his 13th fight and was defending a European title against his mandatory.... He did not pick this opponent and Im pretty certain that people on here (can't remember exactly who) were mentioning this could be a difficult night for him.

He comes out and breezes through the defence and immediately people are criticising him for his opponent not being very good and him not fighting a world ranked opponent?????

Once again I repeat his 13th fight!!!! He is still a novice for goodness sake and I reckon you will struggle to find many British fighters or many fighters full stop with a better list of fights so early....

Ok he was a complete tool before the Groves fight and a couple of others...... His 'He's Chunky' ring enterance and idiotic poise after fights were cringeworthy beyond belief but why not give the guy a chance instead of looking to tear him down when he is only getting started.

He is one of these people who knows how to sell a fight??

What are you on about, 2 of the fights he was supposed to have before the weekend got cancelled because they weren't selling.

And the cry of "he is only trash talking" is ridiculous, trash talking is great when it's used effectively and smarty. "smelly breath" and "ugly Ginger kid" is pathetic and embarrassing to listen too. His crap ring entrances and gloating over beating part time ice cream salesmen from Latvia at such an early stage has turned fans off. At this stage you should be fighting and learning. Not thinking you are a box office star. That comes after you learn.

I will continue to watch him and hope he learns More. Will be interesting to see whether he can keep the stupidity to a minimum at least until he gets his flaws ironed out

I think you should lay of the punctuation buttons

I've said it about a lot of fighters that you can only beat what's infront of you and he did that very well, he still gets caught with punches he shouldn't though and I have a slight concern of what someone with real power could do if they caught him.

He's one of these guys who knows how to sell fights, David Haye and Floyd Mayweather are masters of it, come across as complete morons but away from the camera I would bet they are quite nice blokes, Degale certainly is. Met him at the Khan vs Barerra fight in Manchester, had loads of time for the fans and was an all round top guy.

by compelling and rich Mon 23 Apr 2012, 6:51 pm

the problem being is he's a olympic gold medal winner, your expected to be fast tracked abit quicker as your normally got that much more ability than just a normal youngster coming through the ranks. just been having a look through some other olympic medal winners to see where they were at the same time, while de gale might not be talented as some the level they were fighting was generally alot higher

sugar ray leonard was fighting mayweather snr in his 14 fight
michael spinks won his tilte 17 fights leon even earlier
lewis had won eurpoean and british title
more recently gamboa won his title after around 14 fights

de gales not going to be as good as most of those who listed but even the likes of joel casamayor and povetkins were fighting at a higher level by then and i dont see why de gale cant be there level. seems with british fighters they are matched a lot easier and i think it has a effect on thier progression. the likes of smith and groves were good match ups and proabaly learned more in them than the rest of his fights put together.

by alanqlm Tue 24 Apr 2012, 10:23 pm

Pointing out those fighters and what they have done...

Sugar - We don't know who James will be fighting in his 14th fight as he has only just had his 13th (though I highly doubt he will ever get anywhere near Leonards level.

Spinks - I think there is a very good chance James could knick a world title of some description by his 17th fight he has another 4 to get there and wouldn't surprise me to see him in with the winner or Abraham/Steiglitz if he sorts out his manager situation.

Lewis - I don't really get this as DeGale has done the same so pointless point really.

Gamboa - In my opinion is in a far weaker division and is probably the best fighter in the world outside Mayweather atm IMO.

So to be fair I dont think he has done all that bad so far.

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