By Cliff Rold

Washington, DC - In what was expected to be a bit of a tune-up, 30-year old IBF super middleweight titlist James DeGale (23-1, 14 KO) of London, England, got maybe the most physically challenging fight of his career and walked away with a debatable unanimous decision over 27-year old Rogelio Medina (36-7, 30 KO) of Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico. The fight was a heavy handed affair throughout where the victor was handed boos at the finish from fans in the arena.

DeGale weighed in at 167 ½ while Medina came in at 167 ¾. The referee was Malik Waleed.

DeGale initiated the action, jabbing from the southpaw stance and then sliding orthodox. Medina wisely aimed for the chest and body landing some heavy shots to the ribs while DeGale mostly head hunted. Medina’s body blows increased in the second as he walked DeGale into the ropes. The body shots opened up chances to land upstairs, though there were less chances when he aimed to the head alone. DeGale battled back with some nice flurries in the closing moments of round two.

Clubbing away and pressing the fight, Medina stayed all over DeGale as round three got underway. A DeGale shot upstairs stopped him in his tracks and DeGale pounced with a selection of hard shots. DeGale couldn’t maintain the momentum of the moment and Medina resumed control late in the round as DeGale went to the corner with a reddening left eye.

Both men had moments in the fourth, DeGale having some luck at single pot shots but the heavier blows continued to come from Medina. DeGale drew boos from the crowd late in round four when he took to moving without punching back.

The next two rounds featured quality violence. DeGale had a fantastic fifth, keeping the fight at his range and battering Medina. The Mexican challenger surged back for the first two minutes of the sixth, getting to DeGale’s ribs and busting him with stiff rights only for DeGale to open up with a blistering salvo that may have stolen the round.

They kept trading rounds as the fight wore on, most of them difficult to score. When Medina concentrated to the body, he had success. When he didn’t, DeGale had the fight in his wheelhouse and picked away at the less refined challenger. Both men were in a fight and the fans were getting their money’s worth.

With the fight seemingly up for grabs, Medina stayed with what worked for him. Landing to the body, he flat outworked a DeGale too comfortable with landing one at a time and taunting. With the crowd loudly chanting “Porky,” the nickname of Medina, the twelfth unfolded with both men letting their hands go. Both men landed some clean head shots down the stretch, DeGale landing last in a close round.

The crowd, which became a pro-Medina crowd by the end, booed loudly as scores came in at a reasonable 115-113, 116-112, and a ridiculous 117-111 for DeGale. BoxingScene scored the bout 115-113 for Medina from ringside.

Medina came in riding a four-fight win streak that included a knockout of then-undefeated J’Leon Love in August 2014. DeGale makes the second successful defense of the title he won in 2015. Both men had plenty to say after the fight.

DeGale credited his own skill set. “The boxing skills are too good.  If I’m being honest, he’s a very strong fighter, but skills pay the bills.  I watched this guy years ago and this guy didn’t have the engine like that.  He’s gotten better and stronger in the last year and a half.”

With credit given to the challenger, DeGale looked to the future tipping his cap to where his rooting interests lay in the main even. “I want Badou jack.  I want a fresh name on my record.”

Medina felt he’d won the fight and wasn’t shy about it. “He said he was going to stop me.  He was running all around and he didn’t stop me like he said he would.” Medina also felt some of the tactics of DeGale were foul, apparently leading to him spitting on DeGale, something not visible at ringside. “He was head-butting me and I was getting a little frustrated and that’s why I spit on him.”

Medina justifiably looked at the outcome as a bit of unfinished business. “He’s the only one who thinks he won.  The fans think I won.  I definitely want the rematch.”

ON THE UNDERCARD

25-year old middleweight Christopher Pearson (14-1, 10 KO), 159, of Trotwood, Ohio, won a ten-round unanimous decision over Ghanaian-born 36-year old Joshua Okine (28-7-1, 17 KO), 158 ¾, of Silver Spring, Maryland. It was never a scintillating affair, but the occasional big counter shot spoke to the sort of night the victor was having. In a battle of jabs and ring position, it was Pearson who maintained just enough edge to keep a night long streak of matching scores going at 98-92 thrice over. The referee was Billy Johnson.

27-year old Ugandan former lightweight title challenger Sharif Bogere (28-1, 19 KO), 135 ½, of Las Vegas, Nevada, won a lopsided ten-round unanimous decision over 31-year old Ghanaian Samuel Amoako (21-10, 15 KO), 136, of Silver Spring, Maryland. Working behind a steady jab, and picking spots for occasional combinations, Bogere grinded out a win over a game but outmatched Amoako. Amoako never consistently moved his hands and the fight never felt like much more than a workout for Bogere. Bogere earned scores of 100-90 across the board. The referee was Kenny Chevalier.  

In light heavyweight action, 27-year old Ecuadorian Carlos Gongora (7-0, 4 KO), 173, of Brooklyn, New York, quickly dispatched of professional opponent Zac Kelley (5-15, 5 KO), 170 ¼, of Lawton, Oklahoma. Gongora landed seemingly at will with both the left and right, scoring two official knockdowns. The first knockdown saw Kelley nearly fall out of the ring. After the second trip to the deck, referee Billy Johnson mercy stopped the bout at 1:50 of the first.   

The fight between Latondria Jones and Kamika Slade wasn't over before it began, but it was definitely over shortly afterward — just 18 seconds after the opening bell rang. Jones hurt Slade with a right hand and followed forward as Slade turned her head and moved away. Jones landed a few more rights before referee Kenny Chevalier stepped in. Jones, a 29-year-old junior middleweight from Las Vegas, is now 3-0 with 2 KOs. Slade lost in her pro debut.

Local lightweight Keegan Grove (1-0), 133, of Washington, DC, got his professional career off to a positive start with a workmanlike four-round decision over 33-year old Anthony Napunyi (14-19, 7 KO), 128 ½, of Canal Point, Florida. The loss was Napunyi’s 15th in a row, coming in at unanimous scores of 40-36. The referee was David Braslow.

The opening bout of the evening ended in one of the rarest of fashions.

In the junior middleweight division, a pair of undefeated fledgling pros stayed undefeated as all three judges came in identically at 38-38, a unanimous draw. Moshea Allen (4-0-1, 2 KO), 153 ¾, of Richmond, Virginia, and Martez Jackson (2-0-2, 1 KO), 153, of Macon, Georgia, both delivered a spirited effort and landed some good shots. Neither landed enough to make a case over the other.  

The super middleweight headliners were televised in the US on Showtime as part of its “Championship Boxing” series, promoted by Mayweather Promotions.   

Cliff Rold is the Managing Editor of BoxingScene and a member of the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board and the Boxing Writers Association of America.  He can be reached at roldboxing@hotmail.com