Boxing News Boxing News
This weekend the WBC super-middle weight belt and the IBF super middle weight title are on the line for Badou Jack and James DeGale, against Lucien Bute and Rogelio Medina, respectively, at the Armory in Washington DC on Saturday.
Interestingly enough, Badou Jack (20-1-1) beat Medina (36-6-0) at the end of 2013 and DeGale beat Bute in his most recent fight.
Bute (32-3-0) once was a force in the division, if a little protected in his adopted hometown of Montreal, Canada. When the real tests came though, the elite of the division at the time, he was found wanting.
He was undefeated when Carl Froch absolutely destroyed him, knocking him out in 2012, and has never really looked the same since, losing a points decision to Jean Pascal and being out boxed by DeGale.
However, Bute did put up enough of a fight against DeGale to show there’s fight left in him, the question is how much?
Badou Jack does everything well, but nothing spectacularly, in my opinion anyway. He is a good well rounded boxer, with a 55% KO ratio who was lucky to be on the winning end of a split decision in his most recent fight against George Groves.
With Bute being a southpaw, he could prove difficult for Jack. Bute has a sneaky body shot with his left hand, which does damage and he has good lateral movement. It all depends on how much Bute has got left in the tank.
I doubt Jack has Froch’s power and he is not a better boxer than DeGale, so if Bute shows up in the right mind-set, Jack will most definitely have a fight on his hands.
If Jack can keep his shape, form and composure he should get a points decision but it is no foregone conclusion in my eyes.
DeGale (22-1-0) has to be careful against Medina, who can bang, with a 71% KO ratio and has knocked out his last four opponents, so will be coming in confident.
A rugged brawler, Medina will want to get involved with DeGale early and often. Which does play into DeGale’s hands but DeGale has a tendency to switch off in the middle rounds of a fight, which at his level is a habit he needs to drop fast.
DeGale does have the power and the skills to make this bout against Medina easy for himself.
DeGale wins this by KO, to set up the fight that should be happening…Jack Vs DeGale.
