By Scott Gilfoid: In the span of his short six-year pro career, #1 IBF super middleweight contender James DeGale (20-1, 14 KOs) hasn’t yet established himself as any kind of a puncher or even close to being a puncher. If anything, you can call DeGale more of a slapper with the way he throws wide, slapping hooks that frequently leave him vulnerable to the straighter shots from his often less than impressive opposition.
For that reason, it’s interesting to note that DeGale, 29, believes himself capable of stopping #2 IBF Andre Dirrell in their fight for the vacant IBF super middleweight title.
DeGale’s promoter Eddie Hearn has just started negotiating with Dirrell’s management for a fight on April 25th, possibly in the UK if they can get Dirrell to sign off on him, the more experienced fighter, to travel to take the fight.
Dirrell is better known than DeGale, and it seems senseless that he would have to the UK to fight for the vacant International Boxing Federation title 168 pound title.
“Dirrell is a very good fighter, a tricky southpaw and it would be an awkward fight, but anyone you face for a World title is going to be tough,” DeGale said via Fightnews.com. “He’s technically good, but I could see myself stopping him later in the fight, I am capable of getting in and stopping anyone.”
I think it’s going to be pretty much impossible for a slapper like DeGale to score a knockout against a much quicker, more powerful and far better defensive fighter like Dirrell.
I don’t see DeGale as having the talent to hang with Dirrell in this fight, and I can see it ending badly for DeGale with him being turned into a red-faced punching bag like Dirrell’s last opponent Derek Edwards.
DeGale’s last three fights have been wins over Marco Antonio Periban, Brandon Gonzales, and Gevorg Khatchikian. None of those guys are even close to being as good as Dirrell. That’s the whole problem.
DeGale has faced record-padding opposition his entire career in facing pretty much nothing but tune-up fights over and over again, and it’s probably going to be too much of a shock for him when he gets in there with the real thing like Dirrell.
It’s going to be a huge step up in class for DeGale without having had the experience to get ready for such a talented fighter.
Dirrell has had three nice tests in his last several fights against Derek Edwards, Nick Brinson and Vladine Biosse. I rate Edwards as being a better fighter than anyone DeGale has fought, including George Groves. I see Edwards halting Groves if the two of them were to face each other.
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