By Scott Gilfoid: In yet another disappointing opponent for EBU super middleweight champion James DeGale (12-1, 9 KO’s) he’ll be defending his title against Hadillah Mohoumadi (13-2-1, 9 KO’s) on Saturday night at the Glow, Bluewater, Greenhithe, Kent, United Kingdom. I’m sure this isn’t the type of opposition that DeGale was hoping he’d still be facing after three long years as a pro, but it looks like DeGale’s career has been in reverse mode ever since he was beaten by George Groves last year in May.

Groves’ career also seems to be going backwards since the DeGale fight with him missing action and having to be content with facing Paul Smith and Francisco Sierra instead of actual world class contenders.

DeGale says he wants to get busier with his career after his title defense against the 32-year-old Mohoumadi on Saturday but if this is what DeGale has in mind in being busier, then perhaps he’s better off fighting infrequently. The funny part is DeGale thinks he’s going to be fighting for a world title by this time next year, which seems comical given that he’s still facing weak 2nd tier opposition.

For DeGale to fight for a title, and have a chance at winning, he’s going to have to really step it up in a major way from the soft competition that he’s been facing since the Groves fight. DeGale really struggled to beat an average Piotr Wilczewski last year in October in a fight that looked more like a draw than any kind of win for DeGale. He then thrashed 37-year-old Cristian Sanavia in an easy 4th round TKO win last April in an embarrassingly one-sided fight. Why DeGale was matched up with a guy like this is anyone’s question. At that point, DeGale should have dumped the EBU title so that he wouldn’t be forced to fight weak opposition over and over again. That’s the real trap that DeGale has in holding down the minor EBU title.

For him to hold onto the strap, he has to fight the weak opposition that they call contenders. The positive for DeGale is that he can pad his record and make himself look better than he actually is. The negative is that DeGale won’t grow as a fighter by wiping out 3rd tier opposition that don’t have a chance.

Mohoumadi lost his last fight against Nikola Sjekloca last July. It’s pretty sad that DeGale is fighting a guy that lost his last fight, but that’s what I’m talking about. His career is going backwards and he’s kidding himself if he honestly thinks he’s going to win a world title next year.