who thought de Gale is something special after beating up Paul Smith. Thought that couldn't be properly pointed out in that other thread after 20+ pages... :scared2: ::
I said that beating up Smith proved very little. Smith was desperately cut prone, desperately defence-deficient and had no punch. DeGale will be back.
Look at this mug. Silly boy. DeGale is still class regardless of the decision tonight and I'd still pick him over the useless spaz in your avatar.
True,..,.. Arabham groupies should be in a shell-tight guard at the moment,.. being on the offensive is rather ironic, in itself, and symbolically.
Shut the fuck up you clowns... We never said Abraham was world class or anything to begin with yet some brits got their panties wet after beating Paul fucking Smith... :atu:
Royness is a clown. I'll let him have his moment though, will be all the sweeter when DeGale comes back
Ludicity was what you guys posted after the Smith fight, but ok. Plus, Ugo - I didn't say anything about writing him off completely. It's not like he was exposed or anything especially not if your assessment of him wasn't as high as some others. They could have easily given him the victory, also - as Warren said he will be able to learn from that.
I like getting over excited about young fighters now and then. Go for a ride see where it takes you. :mj: You do anything for kicks beside make obnoxious, petty threads that make you come off as a douche, royness?
Nah man, Groves was good for the win I thought. I would pick DeGale in a rematch though, provided he's willing to do it ugly and get his hands dirty.
If DeGale had stuck the jab more he would have got the decision. He didn't throw it enough and when he did, he landed clean. Use the long upward jab and work off it with a flurry of punches. DeGale beats Groves, if the rematch is an uglier affair. DeGale commanded the centre of the ring in this fight. This is what made me pick DeGale as the winner. He landed the more cleaner, eye-catching shots. Rematch is definitely due, but I don't think we will see it for quite some time.
But the thing is Shake, DeGale lost :kidcool: I'm not sure if I even made an official prediction for this fight, but needless to say, I fully expected DeGale to win. Despite thinking DeGale is nothing special, I thought he was significantly better than Groves. But he didn't win, Groves outboxed him and rightfully won.
The thing is Hut, he wasn't willing to do it in the first fight, there's nothing to say he's willing to do it in the rematch. He was cautious of Groves' jab and counter right and fought far too cautiously. I think the rematch is similar. Bear in mind these guys obviously know each other very well.
I don't think he was outboxed Mex. I just think he didn't force the issue enough and wasn't as aggressive as Groves. It was DeGale who landed the best shots on the night, hurting groves more than Groves hurt him, even wobbling him with a left hook mid-way/late in the fight, I think it was. I believe the judges went for Groves because he was more on his toes throughout the fight.
That means nothing at all unless he's actually doing something with the centre of the ring and landing shots. Plasterito "commanded" centre ring against Pacquiao, do you think he won that fight? :: Groves was the one that dictated the pace and landed more shots, that's what matters when scoring rounds, not just the person who happens to be nearer the centre of the ring, I mean come on ::
Groves wasn't aggressive at all Shake, he fought cautiously too. The difference is, he fought a better cautious fight than James did. He was very disciplined, constant lateral movement, keeping James behind the jab and using the counter right hand to discourage James from mounting much offense. Groves was the one backing up for most of the fight. Which is not a style I generally like, but quite simply, he controlled most of the rounds and landed more punches. If that's not outboxing, I don't know what is. For most of the fight James actually looked pretty confused, and often looked like somewhat of a plodder, not cutting the ring off or using any intelligent tactics to catch George.
DeGale commanded the centre of the ring yes, but what I mean is, he landed the better shots. As I said before, if he had used his jab more and combined more punches, he would have got the verdict. If we check the total amount of punches thrown and landed from each boxer throughout the fight, I guarantee you it would be quite close. Yes Groves threw more, but he didn't land as well as people make out. Margarito commanded the centre of the ring vs pac yes, but he wasn't the one being the aggressor, he didn't throw enough per round.
Neither did DeGale. DeGale hardly threw anything, to be honest that's the main point. Being in the centre of the ring and SEEMING to be the aggressor doesn't mean much if you're not actually throwing punches and forcing the opponent to fight your fight does it? Like ElTerrible said DeGale was "leading without really leading". He was coming forward pretending to be the aggressor, but didn't take enough risks to put any real pressure on Groves or dictate the pace. The result was that Groves was the one dictacting the (slow) pace because James didn't take the necessary risks to change that.
I would like to see DeGale use his jab more in his next fights, throw more punches, have more confidence in his own ability to do so. He can be very effective behind his jab, which is a very good one when he chooses to use it.
This could have been alot easier for DeGale from viewing the fight a second time on tv. When DeGale decided to come forward and throw flurries, he was quite effective, he needed to do more of that. All credit to Groves tho, he did make it tricky for DeGale and it wasn't the type of fight I expected.
I didn't think DeGale lost, but Groves is a good fighter. Mex made a good point that they know each other so well the fights might always be similar. I still think Chunky is better and will go further but fights between the two might always be tightly contested affairs. Full credit to both for taking the risk at such an early stage of their careers. I'm not going to sit here with sour grapes, Groves got the decision and that's that, anyone who is writing DeGale off after this is a fool
No as everybody knows starting those kinda threads is everything I do. It's the first time I made one like this and only because three people were really ridiculing the people who didn't think deGale is the second coming of Ali after that Smith fight - predicting Groves had no chance in hell at even lasting the distance or this being a mismatch a big one at that. THAT to me also felt obnoxious kinda like Sly before the Taylor Pavlik fight i think it was. I'm sorry if i hurt anybody's feelings but some guys must be really pissed deGale lost because they act like I'm the first to ever open such a thread. :blackcloud:
You're entitled to your opinion, it's cool. I have never stated that DeGale is the next Ali or anything, I just know from what I see, we have a very, very good World champion in the making and a boxer, from these shores who has the ability to dominate. DeGale has so much potential, it's only a matter of time before we see the potential reached. If anything, this loss to Groves might well be a blessing in disguise, to learn, move on and improve.
Purely re: his strategic mistakes Im willing to give him a slight benefit of the doubt since NOBODY expected Groves to fight as a disciplined back fighter mover. Knowing that going in, a decent coach can make sure adjustments are made, I think he can win. I terms of his deeper technical failings this fight was a rare instance where I think 'exposed' is an apt adjective.
Flaws in his game were exposed if that's what you mean, but nothing which can't be rectified. People are forgetting neither of these guys are anywhere near the finished article yet. I don't know if McDonnell is the guy to make those adjustments though, by what I was hearing in the corner he didn't seem to be giving the right instruction or emphasising the need for urgency from DeGale