By Sean Ness: Super Middleweight contender James “Chunky” DeGale (20-1 14 KO’s). The guy is like marmite. You either love him or hate him. In the build up to his British Super Middleweight title fight with his fellow London native and fiercest rival George Groves (21-2 16 KO’S), he was a young guy with a big mouth and showed George nothing but contempt in the build up to their fight.
It was very rare that you heard James give any of his peers respect. He told anyone that was willing to listen that he was the best thing since sliced bread and unless you were living under a rock, you will know that George Groves beat James in a split decision at the O2 Arena in London.
That night I jumped around my living room, can of lager in one hand, fist pumping with the other and Sky TV’s commentator Jim Watt’s voice lingering in the background. The ever egotistical James DeGale looked deflated and I was delighted. He was finally silenced. I’m not going to hide who I wanted to win that fight, I nail my colors to the post however I also recognized that sometimes you need to lose to become a winner and I feel that is exactly what happened that night.
After leaving Frank Warren/Queensberry promotions, James signed a contract with Mick Hennessy Promotions. His choice to sign with Mick, I feel, took him one step forward and two steps back. Mick Hennessy talks a good game however seeing James fight in shopping centres around England didn’t look good for a fighter who is considered a real emerging talent. While DeGale’s Super Middleweight rivals were progressing, he was unable to get a world title shot under his promotional team of Mick Hennessy Promotions even though he was in line for Sakio Bika’s (32-7-3) WBC Super Middleweight title.
Fast forward to April 2014 and James DeGale left Mick Hennessy and moved to the ever growing stable of fighters at Matchroom Sports. Immediately his new promoter, Eddie Hearn secured him a fight on the undercard of Froch Groves II at Wembley Stadium, London, England against a highly respected up and coming fighter by the name of Brandon Gonzales (18-1-1) who came to the UK with a fight record of 18 wins, no losses and 1 draw. Gonzales who like DeGale, was being touted as a future Super Middleweight Champion could count Super WBA Super Middleweight Champ Andre Ward as a stable mate and a supporter of all thing Gonzales as well as having a highly respected trainer Virgil Hunter in his corner. This is what Ward had to say about Gonzales via examiner.com:
“I’ve known him (Gonzales) since his amateur days and think he has what it takes to be a champion, he’s definitely got skills and a lot of raw talent. He’s strong, tough, has speed and a great work ethic, and anytime you have that kind of combination, where a fighter wants to be good and has a family he wants to provide for, that makes him dangerous.”
“I like that even when Brandon is not fighting and helping me – and we’ve sparred for years – he’s on time and comes in good shape. Having the work ethic is sometimes more important than skill. I believe he respects the sport and I definitely like that about him.
“There’s a lot of work ahead for him, but if he continues to hone all his skills, work hard, stay focused and lets his career take course, I believe he’s championship material and can be a champion someday.”
It took James DeGale under 12 minutes to dismantle Gonzales. In the first round James hurt the Portland, Oregon fighter. He kept up the pressure in the second and third round. In the fourth round James caught Brandon with a right and left combo before throwing another right and finished him off with a sweet left hook that sent him to the canvas. Finally the less brash and more focused James DeGale had arrived. I instantly forgot about his attitude in the years previous and was absolutely delighted for him. Since that fight he has beaten Marco Antonio Periban (21-3-1) inside 3 rounds. Now I know two good wins doesn’t make you a world beater however even Carl Froch recognises that James DeGale is currently flirting with greatness.
On May 23rd James DeGale will meet Andre “Flawless” Dirrell (21-1-0) at the Agganis Arena, Boston, Massachusetts. I have no doubt in my mind that James doesn’t care that he is fighting in the US, after all he has traveled the world as an amateur and won titles. As an Olympian he traveled to Beijing in 2008 and against all odds, he came back to “Dear ol Blighty” with the gold. Dirrell is a tough customer there is no doubt about it. You’re talking about a fighter who lost a controversial decision to Carl Froch in an impressive display of boxing only to be ruined by the judges as well as a gutsy performance against Arthur Abraham in the Super 6 Tournament. However after those fights, he not only became inactive but I personally feel that the calibre of fighter he fought weren’t in the same league as your Froch, Kessler’s, Ward’s and Abraham’s of the division. I also feel that he is not the same fighter since the Super 6 Tournament. For the readers out there, please don’t let other writers fool you by telling you that this is a mismatch because it couldn’t be further from the truth. The truth is James DeGale will become the new IBF Super Middleweight Champion come May 23rd in Boston. You can watch James talking to IFL TV’s Kugan Cassius about Dirrell and more below.
“The Buture’s fright, the buture’s chunky” – James DeGale
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