James DeGale v Rogelio Medina

Britain's James DeGale will look to defend his IBF super-middleweight title against Mexico's Rogelio Medina on Saturday in Washington DC.

It is the 30-year-old's second defence after he beat former champion Lucian Bute by a unanimous decision last year.

A win for the former Olympic champion would set up a potential unification bout with WBC title holder Badou Jack.

Sweden's Jack, who previously defeated Medina, will face Romanian-Canadian fighter Bute as the card's main event.

DeGale was originally due to fight Jose Uzcategui, but the Venezuelan pulled out because of illness in February.

That left Medina as the mandatory challenger and the 27-year-old heads into the fight with 36 wins from 42 fights.

DeGale has said he will give fellow Englishman Callum Smith, who stopped Hadillah Mohoumadi inside one round earlier this month, a shot at the title.

Unbeaten Smith is the mandatory challenger for the WBC belt, though Jack is likely to first face DeGale should both win this weekend.

James DeGale faces Rogelio Medina in IBF super-middleweight title defence - BBC Sport

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I'm sure he'd rather give Callum Smith a shot than be fighting a journeyman on the undercard of a guy he just beat:P I feel like Bute has a reasonable shot against Jack though, would a rematch between him and DeGale be that interesting?

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Originally Posted by p4pking

I'm sure he'd rather give Callum Smith a shot than be fighting a journeyman on the undercard of a guy he just beat:P I feel like Bute has a reasonable shot against Jack though, would a rematch between him and DeGale be that interesting?

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Firstly I don't think he would rather be fighting Callum Smith, because Callum Smith would take his title. Secondly, that Journeyman is his Mandatory. If he wants to keep his title , he has to fight him.
I reckon Degale and Jack will both win, fight each other and Jack will win.

I was wondering why Degale has been seemingly quiet.

Not a terrible replacement and hope for some fireworks. It might be sign of a very long day that this can be also billed as "Chunky vs Porky" though ;D

James DeGale made the weight and reiterated his desire for a London unification bout with Badou Jack ahead of his fight with Rogelio 'Porky' Medina on Sunday.

The IBF super-middleweight champion was inside the 168lbs limit, weighing in at 167.6lbs, with his Mexican opponent tipping the scales slightly heavier at 167.8lbs.

The 30-year-old's bout against Medina will be the second defence of his IBF title, which he won by beating Andre Dirrell. He followed that up with a win over Lucian Bute.

DeGale insists he is out to make a statement against the 27-year-old in Washington DC, live on Sky Sports 1 HD, but clearly had one eye on WBC champion Jack, who takes on Bute on the same card, and is keen on a UK unification fight later in 2016.

"That's what I want in September, it is pencilled in; me and Badou Jack, hopefully in London, that's what I want," DeGale told Sky Sports News HQ.

James DeGale makes weight ahead of Rogelio Medina fight | Boxing News | Sky Sports

George Groves is a damaged fighter, he's greedy and our careers have taken different trajectories: James DeGale speaks out ahead of clash with Rogelio Medina

James DeGale's added motivation for successfully defending his world super-middleweight title this Saturday night is that victory over a rugged Mexican will take him one step nearer the super-fight which is the heart's desire of every elite boxer.
Unfortunately he suspects that his British arch-rival George Groves no longer qualifies as the go-to opponent for a domestic showdown in a London football stadium, let alone a place alongside him on the global stage.

Chunky, as this former Olympic champion is known, lost a narrow and somewhat disputed decision to the Saint when these unfriendly neighbours met early in their careers.

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Now, as he prepares to face Rogelio Medina in Washington, DeGale has this to say about Groves, who is trying to rebuild his career after a third successive failure to win a world title: 'George is damaged now as a fighter. The boxing public see it and I think the chance for our rematch has gone.

'His prime performance was in his first fight against Froch when he had Carl in real trouble but still could not close the show. And by the way a very good referee called Howard Foster was right to stop that fight before he got badly hurt.

'Then he suffered that huge knock out by Carl at Wembley, from which he has never fully recovered. That showed when his best chance of winning a world title came against Badou Jack here in America but he got knocked down and never looked like winning.

'I don't need to put him down. Don't want to. Our careers have now taken different trajectories.

'Me, I've kept rising to win my world title in America and defend it in Canada, both against high-class opposition. He's gone into decline.'

DeGale suspects that Groves, behind his bravura persona, must regret not accepting their rematch when it was offered. For that, he accuses the Saint of putting jealous avarice before ambition, saying: 'After I won my world title there was a million pounds on the table for him to challenge me in what would have been a big fight in England at that time.

'He turned it down because he couldn't stand the thought of me getting a bit more as the champion. He's always greedy. He is a very good salesman but when he promoted himself against Froch he made a lot of money for Carl.

'That's George. He's intelligent but sometimes a bit too clever for his own good. He's a weird character.'

Groves hopes to put down his marker for a fourth title shot when he fights another of our nearly-world champions, Martin Murray, on the undercard of Anthony Joshua's first world heavyweight title defence in June.

If the Saint finally achieved his goal, would Chunky see sense in a unification match?
'Maybe,' says DeGale. 'But only if he had a full world title. He's going for a WBA belt, which is the softest option, but probably only for what they call their 'regular' title which is not worth much. And he's not certain to beat Murray. Martin's a hard man and that is a 50-50 fight.

'After that, even If he gets past Murray and goes on to win a belt, the money will still be a problem for George. I expect to have two belts by then, which would qualify me for two-thirds of the purse. He wouldn't like that.'
The prospect of a second belt beckons in the Armory here in DC in the shape of promotional double header.

In addition to DeGale v Medina for the IBF title, Jack defends, against former champion Lucian Bute, the WBC belt he won by beating Groves.

The two winners are pledged to meet each other in a unification bout later this year.
DeGale, having beaten Bute in Canada, hopes Jack comes through, saying: 'It's not ideal to box someone you've already defeated quite comfortably. If Bute does win, then probably the only place our second fight would make financial sense would be back in his country.

'But I want my next fight to be back in England. I need to re-connect with my fans at home and Jack says he would be willing to go to London.'

Much depends on the view of Al Haymon, boxing's American Svengali. And the money.
Haymon, as advisor to scores of leading fighters, is a shadowy figure but DeGale says: 'When I first joined Al he told me he would make me rich and famous. Well, he's certainly taking care of the finances. Instead of earning two or three hundred thousand dollars-a-fight in the UK, I'm getting seven figures now.

'If that means fighting in America, so be it. But after these two fights I need a really big name.'

That might require moving up to the light-heavyweight division, where the brilliant Andre Ward has agreed to fight fearsome Russian KO artist Sergey 'Krusher' Kovalev in the autumn.

DeGale never ducks a challenge and says: 'Once I unify the super-middleweight division I should be ready for either of them. Ward is a very clever boxer but I know I have the skills to defeat him. Kovalev is powerful and dangerous and can win if he catches Ward. But I believe that with my speed I can outbox him, as well as take his punches if needs be.'

Such a move would emulate Amir Khan daring to go up more than one division for next Saturday's startling assault on world middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez.

DeGale says: 'I worry that Canelo will be too strong for Amir but I admire him for doing it. Like me, he is prepared to take on anyone. And his speed gives him a chance, if he can avoid getting caught by big shots for the full 12 rounds.'

The alternative for DeGale would be to try to trim down to middleweight for the biggest box office fight of all, against the phenomenal Gennady Golovkin.

'Getting to that poundage would be hard for me,' says DeGale. 'I'm 30 now and as you get a bit older it's difficult to change your body. But it would be a great fight. He may want to come up to super-middle once he's beaten all the middleweights and I would love that fight. He knocks everyone out but he doesn't scare me.'

Chunky expects to be the one inflicting the KO in DC. He says: 'Medina's a typically tough Mexican but I should take him out fairly early.'

His self-confidence sometimes borders on the brash and can jar on the British public. But in distant America, southpaw James DeGale is establishing himself as a genuinely world class boxer.

If Bute doesn't shit himself - being outside Canada - he has a good chance of beating Jack.

DeGale needs to get back to England for fucks sake. The majority of people don't give a shit about fights happening in the early hours of the morning. Totally under the radar

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Originally Posted by Primo Carnera

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Originally Posted by p4pking

I'm sure he'd rather give Callum Smith a shot than be fighting a journeyman on the undercard of a guy he just beat:P I feel like Bute has a reasonable shot against Jack though, would a rematch between him and DeGale be that interesting?

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Firstly I don't think he would rather be fighting Callum Smith, because Callum Smith would take his title. Secondly, that Journeyman is his Mandatory. If he wants to keep his title , he has to fight him.
I reckon Degale and Jack will both win, fight each other and Jack will win.

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Take it you're not a big DeGale fan? Firstly, I think he's very good. Secondly, way to soon to know if Callum Smith would beat him or not. Thirdly, I wouldn't give Jack a great chance at all. Fourthly, I reckon the use of connective adverbs gave your post a condescending overtone.

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Originally Posted by p4pking

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Originally Posted by Primo Carnera

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Originally Posted by p4pking

I'm sure he'd rather give Callum Smith a shot than be fighting a journeyman on the undercard of a guy he just beat:P I feel like Bute has a reasonable shot against Jack though, would a rematch between him and DeGale be that interesting?

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Firstly I don't think he would rather be fighting Callum Smith, because Callum Smith would take his title. Secondly, that Journeyman is his Mandatory. If he wants to keep his title , he has to fight him.
I reckon Degale and Jack will both win, fight each other and Jack will win.

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Take it you're not a big DeGale fan? Firstly, I think he's very good. Secondly, way to soon to know if Callum Smith would beat him or not. Thirdly, I wouldn't give Jack a great chance at all. Fourthly, I reckon the use of connective adverbs gave your post a condescending overtone.

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You're right , I'm not a big Degale fan, I never have thought he was very good for a number of reasons, even when I was watching him in the Olympics.
I think it's time for Callum Smith to move on, and if I thought there was an outstanding champion, I would perhaps be a bit more careful with him, but I don't think there is.
I think Jack is an improving fighter and now being Champion, he may grow in confidence. Add that to my lack of regard for Degale, and I think he has a chance.
I'm sorry if my use of connective adverbs looked condescending, it honestly wasn't meant to and apologise if any offence was taken. I may not rate Degale much, but that doesn't mean I disrespect somebody who has an opinion contrary to that. Each to their own.
I just thought that as I was addressing more than one comment, that for the sake of clarity, I would clearly identify and itemise my points.
I think that way is a lot clearer than this post, where I haven't used connective adverbs and can be construed as a bit of a mish mash.
But again, each to their own. 😉

Firstly, I was just messing around :p Why don't you rate DeGale much? His feet aren't great and he's got some holes, but he's also a dynamic puncher and a very akward lefty who is seemingly really tough as well. I think he'd be a hell of a task for anyone who hasn't been tested a bit more than Smith(who does look like a beast, granted). Jack I just don't see as doing anything special, and I doubt he'd be able to take DeGales power. He's got some skills, but isn't nearly as elusive as Andre Dirrell for instance.

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Originally Posted by p4pking

Firstly, I was just messing around :p Why don't you rate DeGale much? His feet aren't great and he's got some holes, but he's also a dynamic puncher and a very akward lefty who is seemingly really tough as well. I think he'd be a hell of a task for anyone who hasn't been tested a bit more than Smith(who does look like a beast, granted). Jack I just don't see as doing anything special, and I doubt he'd be able to take DeGales power. He's got some skills, but isn't nearly as elusive as Andre Dirrell for instance.

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Ha ha , fair enough. I was hoping I hadn't pissed you off 😄 no, in all seriousness, I just think Degale doesn't work hard enough, never works for 3 minutes a round, he's very lazy. I think he certainly has talent, but I don't see a great deal of power. And also , when he does have some success, he doesn't finish the job off.
For example, when he put Dirrell down, he should've gone out and made a statement instead of hanging on for his life.
The only statements he makes are verbal unfortunately and I believe most People in Britain don't take to him, hence the massive chip on his shoulder.
This thread is a perfect example. He's a World Champion, arguably the best in the division , he's defending his title tonight, and the only people talking about him are You, Me and Master.
Furthermore, he's in fight week, double bill with the other top guy , and all he can talk about this week are Eddie Hearn and George Groves!
Yeah, I don't go much on him.😄

Dirrell is a pretty hard guy to land clean on, in fairness. I picked him to beat DeGale based on the things you say more or less, he has much better feet and I didn't think DeGale would be able to close distance or keep a pace up. I have no impression of Degale as a person really, but George Groves doesn't exactly seem like a hoot, why is he so much more popular despite his setbacks?

The last bit was basically my point.. Can't blame him for trying to get his name out about something/someone else when he is in a slot like this, there is basically no statement he can make in the ring against this kind of opponent.

This is the thing. Why is Groves so much more popular than Degale? You would think it would be the other way round, Olympic Champion etc.
I can only go on 2 things. 1.personal opinion , I just seem to like what I hear more from Groves than Degale , he seems more genuine.also , I like Groves's boxing style. And
2. The fact that he went round all the promoters over here and couldn't get on with anyone . Perhaps they all think he's an arrogant cunt.

Porky vs Chunky.

James landing nice. Stiff, stiff jab. Medina shell shocked after round one.

DeGale way sharper, porky is already doing better than I though he would though.

Better rd for Medina and he really put in the work but James kind of let him and James still got the round

DeGale feeling all of that pressure. Legs a bit gummy

James seems to be letting Medina stay in this fight and taking chances but he still got round 3. Maybe he wants some rounds,

Medina gone a little rinse and repeat here in rd 4. James toying a little. Never seen Degale switch this much before. All his shots have meaning.

4-zip

3-1 DeGale but he's feeling this rate. Tough scrap, wonder if 'he'll get Medina out before Jack did.

Degale has his way in rd 5. Everything landing for Degale. Medinas early show of some hand speed has all but vanished.

5-zip

Have to give that to Medina. James took that one off.

5-1

4-2 DeGale, take 2:30 of work and body over two punches. Love the pace style clash. DeGale should have kept ko prediction to himself.

DeGale holding his elbows closer to his body. He's feeling the body shots

6-1. Medina throwing and its nothing but air.

5-2 DeGale turned pot shot artist. The corner is his enemy. Medina needs to go all out

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Originally Posted by Spicoli

4-2 DeGale, take 2:30 of work and body over two punches. Love the pace style clash. DeGale should have kept ko prediction to himself.

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Good fight! Did I just hear Median's corner tell him he needs to apply more pressure? Damn, I want to see that!;D

6-2. Medina did some nice work in that round and that's twice Degale tried to Leonard a round that he lost.

7-2

7-2 but the hybrid Gumby bend and pose he does drives me nuts. He really doesn't punch off top of shoulder does he.

8-2 but Media could have got that from a judge.

7-3 DeGale

8-3 Media worked that one out.

7-4 DeGale. Medinas clearest round since 2nd. Both are great at forearms ffs! Now or never Medina in 12th

8-4. Degale better lift his game over the second half of his fights