By Scott Gilfoid: EBU super middleweight champion James DeGale (12-1, 9 KO’s) apparently isn’t ready to step it up to the big time against better opposition yet for some reason. Instead of facing a top 10 contender and possibly moving ahead to a world title shot, DeGale, #4 WBO, #7 IBF, #7 WBC, will be facing fringe contender Mouhamed Ali Ndiaye (22-1, 13 KO’s) in DeGale’s second defense of his European Boxing Union strap.

I see this as backwards move on the 26-year-old DeGale’s part from his last fight against 37-year-old Cristian Sanavia, who DeGale defeated by a 4th round TKO last April. The 32-year-old Ndiaye, #12 WBC, #15 WBO, has a nice record when you first look at it, but when you glance at the kinds of guys that Ndiaye has been fighting since he turned pro in 2005, you’ll notice that there’s no real quality on his resume.

It’s pretty much 2nd and 3rd tier opposition. The one halfway decent 2nd tier fighter that Ndiaye, Lolenga Mock, beat him by a 12 round split decision four years ago in March 2008. Since then, it’s been mostly soft opposition that has kept Ndiaye, but obviously not expanding.

I guess I can’t blame DeGale for not moving up against better opposition, because he went life and death with the light hitting Piotr Wilczewski last year in October in a fight where Wilczewski was the bigger puncher, and appeared to fight well enough to deserve the win. That performance showed that DeGale isn’t ready for the prime time players yet, and may never be. DeGale has to find some power if he wants to make a mark in the division, and he also needs to find some foot speed, because he’s slow as heck.