DeGale hoping Groves beats Badou Jack to setup grudge match

By Boxing News - 05/28/2015 - Comments

degale66666By Scott Gilfoid: IBF super middleweight champion James DeGale (21-1, 14 KOs), who barely got by Andre Dirrell last week in their fight for the vacant IBF 168lb crown, is really hoping like mad that fellow countryman #1 WBC George Groves (21-2, 16 KOs) wins his fight against WBC super middleweight champion Badou Jack (19-1-1, 12 KOs) this Summer.

DeGale needs Groves to win that fight so that the two of them can face each other in a unification fight in 2016. It would be a rematch, as DeGale lost a 12 round decision to Groves four years ago in 2011 in a close fight.

DeGale believes that the Groves-Jack fight will take place in either August or September this year in the United States. If Groves wins that match-up, DeGale figures that the British boxing public will want to see the two of them fight each other next year.

“He’s got to do his job first. He’s got to go to America in August or September and win his title. If he can do that, and please God he can, hopefully he does (and) that’s a massive fight next year.”

DeGale’s promoter Eddie Hearn is certainly excited at the prospects of a DeGale-Groves rematch. It would be interesting to see if he’d dare try and put the fight in Wembley Stadium and risk having it not sell out. It would be a pity if the fight were to fill one quarter of the stadium.

It would obviously be a lesson learned for Hearn. I would like to think that he’ll do a lot of research before he goes down that path of booking a huge stadium for a couple of guys that still haven’t established themselves as stars in the sport.

“I’m just hoping he [Groves] can go and win his fight [against Badou Jack] and we can please the fans,” DeGale said to Skysports.com. “That’s what Britain wants to see, me and George Groves go at it again, because (last time) it was controversial, it was a grudge match and I suppose everyone loves a grudge match.”

First things first, Groves has to try and beat Jack before DeGale can realize his dream, and I’m not so sure that Groves can do that. I think Jack is the better fighter with the far better chin, and the perfect style to wear Groves down and stop him. Jack puts a lot of pressure on his opponents just like Carl Froch does, and I don’t think Groves can handle that pressure at this point.

To be sure, Jack doesn’t punch as hard as Froch, but he punches with more than enough power to dent Groves’ chin and send him down for the 10-count. We saw Groves get stunned by shots in his last two fights against Denis Douglin and Christopher Rebrasse, and neither of those fighters have the same kind of power that Jack has. Therefore, it stands to reason that if those guys were able to hurt Groves, then Badou Jack will be able to hurt him as well and score a knockout.

I think Badou Jack might be interested in facing DeGale in a unification fight, but DeGale would likely have to forget about trying to stage the fight in the UK. I don’t see that happening. It would likely need to take place in the USA or not at all.



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