Dirrell: DeGale will pay if the fight goes 12 rounds

By Boxing News - 05/21/2015 - Comments

_DM33164(Photo credit: Carly Gillis Photography) By Scott Gilfoid: Andre Dirrell (24-1, 16 KOs) figures that it will be much easier for the visiting James DeGale (20-1, 14 KOs) if he’s knocked out quickly on Saturday night in their clash for the vacant IBF 168lb title rather than if the fight goes the full distance. If the fight goes the full 12, DeGale will take a lot of punishment and will have to pay, Dirrell says.

It’s hard to doubt a fighter like Dirrell because if you watched his last fight against Derek Edwards last December, you’ll have noticed how much awful punishment Edwards took in that fight.

It was so bad that some people thought that Edwards’ trainer should have pulled the plug on the fight by as early as the 6th round because he was just taking enormous punishment in there. The thing is Edwards and DeGale both have the same type of hand speed. In other words, DeGale is slow like Edwards, and that’s going to be a big, big problem for DeGale on Saturday night, because his defense is already poor.

“If I stop James early he is lucky. But if it goes 12 rounds that’s when he has to pay,” Dirrell said via Skysports.com. “I will become the IBF super-middleweight world champion. I want to begin my reign at the top because once I get up there, there’s no going down.”

Saturday’s Dirrell vs. DeGale fight will take place on Premier Boxing Champions on NBC at the Agganis Arena, in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. This is a great opportunity for both fighters to get a lot of attention from the media, as the fight will be televised on free TV in the U.S, and that means it’s going to be seen by many more fans than if it were to be televised on one of the premium channels.

Hopefully this will be a competitive fight between these two southpaw fighters because with all the hype that’s gone into the run up of the fight, it would be a letdown if it turns out to be a mismatch. However, I think it very well could be a mismatch. We already saw DeGale get beaten by mediocre fighter in George Groves in 2011, and DeGale hasn’t faced anyone even at that level in the past four years. To be sure, DeGale has won his last 10 fights since his defeat to Groves, but it’s also true that he’s not faced anyone even at Groves’ level. So that kind of tells you that DeGale’s 10-fight winning steam is completely meaningless.

“I’m glad to be getting in there with somebody who believes he can win,” Dirrell said. “I want someone who will test me like I’ll test them. My goals are set and I’m going to accomplish every one,” Dirrell said.

DeGale has been droning on about wanting to make history in this fight. It’s kind of scary when you have someone saying that winning a world title is their destiny. When you get someone like that, it sends out red flags that they’re heading up the wrong road. I think DeGale sees himself as being better than he is in reality. Fighters that are destined to win world titles don’t lose to limited guys like Groves. I mean, if DeGale can’t even beat Groves then what in the heck does that tell you about DeGale? I see a destiny for DeGale, but not the same kind of one that he sees. I think DeGale’s destiny is to lose to Dirrell on Saturday and have a nice career as a contender/gate keeper type fighter.



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