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England vs. Sweden: James DeGale vs. Badou Jack

By Allan Cerf

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James-DeGale-vs.-Badou-Jack.jpg
James-DeGale-vs.-Badou-Jack.jpg

Particulars:

 

Londoner James, ‘Chunky’ DeGale, winner of Olympic Gold in 2008, takes on Las Vegas resident by way of Sweden, Badou Jack, aka “The Ripper,” in an important middleweight bout. Watch live in the USA on Showtime regular (non-PPV) channels. SkySports 2 will also broadcast the fight live in the UK.

 

Background: No grudge match or likely fight of the year; rather a solid bout between two talented middleweights. The winner has options: for DeGale, perhaps a rematch of his close loss to George Groves. Jack, should he win, has said he wants to battle Andre Ward which might suit Ward fine--if he fights again, which is debatable. Neither are spring chickens and with a win, both are in perfect position to line up exciting fights and big paydays.

Scorecards: (Speed, Power, Defense, Reach, Age, Stamina, Experience)

 

James DeGale: B B B B C+ B B (Average of all) B-

 

John Molina: B B B B C+ B B (Average of all) B-

 

Reality Check:

 

The reality is that this is a very solid contest--and referee and judges might play a huge role as this will almost certainly go 12. Neither man is yelling KO; both have a below 60% KO ratio. Both men, curiously, are defined by the ‘ghost’ of George Groves. DeGale’s deadly enemy, St. George narrowly defeated him as an amateur and professional. Both bouts were disputed. Badou defeated Groves BUT – despite out-landing the Londoner significantly, strong arguments for Groves winning the bout have been made.

 

Jack also beat one of the mega-talented Dirrell Brothers (Anthony) against whom almost no one wins clearly- he didn’t. Great credit to DeGale; he bagged himself a Dirrell (Andre) clearly, despite Dirrell giving him some fits. DeGale is quicker, Jack perhaps a bit of a harder puncher. DeGale’s lefty style will help him, particularly as a Badou Jack is very front-foot heavy which slows his punch delivery. Combined with a southpaw in front of him, it’s going to be ‘tricky,’ as they say in England. Jack does have the psychological advantage of having beaten DeGale’s sworn foe, Groves.

James-DeGale-vs.-Badou-Jack.jpg
James-DeGale-vs.-Badou-Jack.jpg

Personal:

James DeGale’s charming and honest self-write-up on his website describes him as an average guy, disinterested student and the child of a very tight-knit family unit. He says bluntly he’s not everyone’s cup of tea but comes across as a very solid type, both to fans and pundits. His hobby is ‘foodie’ (gourmet) food which he concedes is not good for a boxer.

 

 

Badou Jack

 

Born to a Swedish Mom and Gambian Dad, Jack helped fellow Swede, Joel Kinnaman, prepare for action roles in Hollywood films. Sadly, I could find little more on Badou and will endeavor to interview him in 2017 to set this right.

 

 

Fight and Prediction:

With luck, both men will fight as if their lives depended on it with DeGale’s somewhat slicker, lefty style helping him to a close and perhaps contested UD 12.

 

 

 

 

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