Anyone going for the upset here? Will Groves be flattened or stopped early, as DeGale has predicted (4 rounds he says) Will it go the distance in a toe-to-toe bloddy battle? Will Groves cry once he loses, with DeGale running up to him shouting ''Ugly kid, look at you cry''? I can only see one winner, DeGale. He'll exploit Groves weaknesses to the core, landing alot. Part of me sees this lasting less than 4 rounds, possibly 2 or 3 rounds, with the ref stopping the fight as Groves is unable to defend himself in an action packed 2 or 3 rounds. I can also see Groves putting up a fight, or at least making it somewhat competitive, but 7 or 8 rounds in he'll get stopped as DeGale smothers him against the ropes, landing at will.
Groves KO 1. I just think DeGale is kind of scrubby, and he'll be exposed by a good boxer with power.
Yeah, DeGale is pretty obviously a mid-level kind of prospect... getting a lot of hype though. He'll probably beat Groves, but he's cruisin' for a bruisin' eventually.
All ye who lack faith... ...ye are wrong. And it shall be proven, your eyes shall see the light. Innit.
Why? When has he shown a bad chin?? Don't get me wrong you might be right but there's absolutely nothing to suggest that thus far
De Gale KO 10. I'll be watching this one closely to decide if DeGale's defensive lapses are down to concentration due to being too relaxed against bums or something more systemic though.
I think DeGale will decision Groves, who seems a compact, confident fighter but is undersized slightly and probably lacks the style to out-hustle DeGale. Groves was also spotted recently sporting a black eye.
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I thought he was on life-support following that brutal, low-blow to the brain-stem when the referee called break after the bell when Dirrells back was turned and Abraham hit him with both fists when his gloves were loaded when Dirrell was in total command of the fight????
I'm just nausing my boy Slice with the pick :: I think he'll beat Groves, he's obviously improved more as a pro, even just 2 years worth of experience or so has made more of a difference to DeGale than Groves it seems. However, even though I've liked James since the Olympics, I don't see what Slice and Hut see in him. He's not bad by any means, but I don't see a potential elite fighter. He reminds me of Calzaghe with half the speed, half the talent, and who knows how much of the toughness.
From what I've seen so far, there really isn't much Calzaghe has over Chunky other than speed (and not by alot) and power (again, not by alot). Workrate as well but that's Calzaghes forte. I think Cookys cousin has shown a better defence and superior footwork. The chin is an unanswered question obviously.
I don't think DeGale's chin will be tested by Groves. I can't see DeGale walking into anything he won't see coming and I don't think Groves will land a lucky shot that would KO him, even really hurt him.
:: Slice, you are a good man but you need to get your tongue out of James' arse mate. Joe would have straight up raped DeGale. MTF
:: Feebs, to be honest it's an unfair comparison from the start because Joe is an unbeaten two weight world champion and James is a ten fight novice. It's easy to say Joe would have raped DeGale when Chunky is at such an embryonic stage of his career. They are actually very different stylistically anyway. DeGale switches stances constantly to find angles, and does it without thinking, whilst Joe was all about a brutal pace from an awkward southpaw stance, he didn't switch very often. How about we compare the ten fight Calzaghe to the ten fight DeGale? Because nobody is raping anybody in that fight.
I'm still not sold on DeGale, or at least to nowhere near the level you, Shake and Hut are. I wasn't a fan of his Olympic effort, despite the gold medal win- that final was the ugliest, shittiest elite level amateur fight I think I have ever seen and his first five or so fights were pretty average. It is certainly true and interesting that he seems to have improved since those days, and I'm looking forward to the Groves fight because it is a massive step-up IMO and will tell us a lot more. I do expect him to win handily too, for the record. I'd pick Calzaghe at the same stage over DeGale, mind. Joe was fucking impressive early on; he iced pretty much everyone he faced in his first twenty or so fights because he sat on his flurries more and looked to land bigger shots. It was only later in his career that he increased his punch output and sacraficed some of the concussive power of his shots. The ONLY 168lb-er in history I'd pick over Joe is RJJ. DeGale aint no Jones Jr my friend... MTF ::
Jones Jr is probably the most naturally gifted fighter that walked the earth, again, a slightly unfair comparison :: As it is, boxing careers take different trajectories. Calzaghe hit the ground running, whilst DeGale has taken more time to adapt to the pro game. You can put alot of this down to the differences in the amateur systems at the respective times they turned pro. I think 10 fight Calzaghe vs 10 fight DeGale is a pick em, honestly. The ONLY reason that might sound silly is because Joe is proven at elite level whilst DeGale isn't. In terms of what we've seen SO FAR, I don't see the gap between the novice versions of each you and Mex are making out, I really don't. Calzaghe himself certainly seems impressed.
Calzaghe is toot-head, so I wouldn't take too much notice of Cocaine Joe if I were you :: I'm just not sold to the extent you lot are yet: like I said, the Groves fight will tell me a lot more. MTF
No way! Calzaghe only threw more punches, was faster and hit harder than DeGale. How do you expect Joe to beat him?!
Without hesitation I would pick a 10 fight Slappy Joe over the current DeGale. Also Slice, I think the speed difference is pretty big. DeGale's speed is within the realm of average for a supermiddle. He's nowhere near as quick as the likes of Dirrell. Joe was a proper quick super middle, much quicker than James. Joe was quicker of hand and foot, hit harder, had better footwork, timing, range, ring generalship and workrate. James has better switchhitting ::
Khan probably has faster hands than Floyd at this moment in time, and throws way more punches, I wouldn't pick him to win though, you narm sayin? I don't agree for one minute that Joe had better footwork, judgement of range, or ring generalship, check the tapes. Footwork is one of Chunkys best assets.
