By Terence Dooley
James DeGale vies for his first professional title tonight on the undercard of Kevin Mitchell’s WBO interim title challenge to Michael Katsidis at Upton Park, London. DeGale, who famously likened himself to Marmite, fights Dudley’s Sam Horton for the vacant WBA international super-middleweight title, and is expected to pick up his first piece of pro silverware.
James, however, still has his eyes set on Commonwealth 168lb boss George Groves, who stole a march on James by hammering the tough Charles Adamu to defeat in six rounds back in March, and is adamant that he will turn Groves’ dreams of a showdown into nightmare visions of the fistic past when they do finally meet in the paid ranks.
“If I keep on winning hopefully this (a Groves fight) can happen, sooner rather than later,” revealed DeGale when speaking to Paul Foley of Boxrec News. “Hopefully I can knock him out sooner rather than later. I use to beat him up in sparring - that is fact. I told Frank (Warren) let’s get it on. But Frank said why go and box up in Manchester (on the Haye v Ruiz bill) it don’t make sense.”
For now, though, James, 6-0 (4 early), has to take care of business against Horton, 15-1 (2); Sam lost his ‘0’ in a devastating defeat to Cello Renda last year, a scary second round KO. It is hard to bet against DeGale in this one, the title looks there for the taking and could be the first of many for the likeable Londoner.
Speaking of congenial Cockneys, Kevin Mitchell, 31-0 (23), has weighed in at 9st 8lb 8oz for his abovementioned fight with Katsidis ‘The Great’, who came in at 9st 8lb 6oz and threw a few Mr Universe poses during the face-off. Mitchell has talked about Amir Khan and Juan Manuel Marquez in recent days but he remains adamant that he has his mind firmly set on Katsidis, telling me earlier this week that he was “totally focussed on doing a job” come Saturday night, and Mitchell will have to be good to his word if he is to prevail over the tough Antipodean.
Katsidis, 26-2 (21), has only lost at the top level, defeats to Joel Casamayor and Juan Diaz, by tenth round KO and points respectively, and he is no stranger to these shores; the strong-arm merchant came over here in 2007 and hammered Graham Earl to a damaging defeat - Earl was never the same again. Though given a standing count in round two, Katsidis looked a real force that night, if you stand and trade with him he will wear you down. Mitchell must use the tactics he employed against Breidis Prescott, lateral movement mixed with carefully picked punches.
Joel Casamayor, a hugely underrated counter-punching master, laid down the blueprint for beating Katsidis when laying him out in 2008, the Cuban’s legs were not what they were yet he used his defensive nous to slip the big shots of Katsidis and countered with strong southpaw shots. Mitchell, with the benefit of his younger, fresher legs, can take a leaf from Casa’s boxing manual, countering Katsidis and nipping out of range before the veteran banger can counter.
It is a big step up for Mitchell, for sure, but there is a definitive sense that he feels his time has come and that Katsidis, though a formidable force, may just be on the wrong side of his personal pugilistic peak and is showing the signs of wear-and-tear.
Jimmy Tibbs, who trains Mitchell, will play his a huge part, the veteran cornerman turned Nigel Benn from a swarming aggressor to an undervalued counter puncher and, in Mitchell, he has a fighter capable of following a battle plan. Look for ‘Mighty’ Mitchell to pickpocket his way to a well-earned decision after weathering a few storms early in the contest.
Across the water, Amir Khan fights a rematch with Paulie Malignaggi after their afternoon bout of pushing and shoving ended in a majority draw. Khan, 139½lb, and Paulie, 139lb, have needled one another for the best part of three months, tomorrow night sees them given the chance to make good on their hyperbole in the historic Madison Square Garden arena.
Paulie, 27-3 (5), has subtly turned the screw during the build-up, dropping hints about Freddie Roach and Alex Ariza’s conditioning methods, prompting Khan to declare that he’s prepared to take any test going in order to prove he is on the level - Malignaggi’s response? A coquettish “I was just wondering aloud” and a prevailing sense, perhaps, that he has won the pre-fight verbals.
However, the fight itself may prove a bridge too far for Paulie. Yes, the ‘Magic Man’ cannot punch; nevertheless this should not be the sole source of reasoning when writing him off. Willie Limond floored Amir in a Commonwealth title fight in 2005 by landing precise, sharp counter punchers to the body and head, using his jab and right hand to prise Amir open and gain maximum leverage on the shots. Willie’s career KOs number less than ten, as do Paulie’s, yet the Scottish terrier managed to put Amir over - Paulie could do the same if his shots are accurate.
Paulie’s jab will be the key factor in the big fight equation, if he gets it off early and accurately then there is every chance that he will break Khan’s serve, disrupt the Bolton boxer’s rhythm and create gaps for his own right hand.
Malignaggi, though, is always there to be hit and was taken out of his stride relatively early in his November 2008 loss to Ricky Hatton, who bowed Paulie with a big right hand in round two; Khan, who is faster of fist than many fighters, overwhelms opponents by virtue of his speedy punch delivery and, should he catch Paulie early and big, Amir’s blurring speed could catch the eye of the referee and force a stoppage.
However, there is a distinct sense that Paulie, who rejuvenated his career by defeating Juan Diaz last December, feels that Amir, 22-1 (16 KOs), has disrespected him; the Brooklyn-based fighter also knows that this is another chance to ram the barbs of his critics down their throats. If his jab is not razor sharp then there should be a steward’s enquiry, therefore we can reasonably expect him to negate Amir early and turn the fight into the type of two-sided contest that Amir needs at this stage of his career. In other words: all bets are off if Paulie starts nicely with that left lead.
The winners in all this? Boxing fans. Sky Sports 1 and HD1 televise the Frank Warren promoted Upton Park bill from 8pm; ITV will serve up the Khan fight from 2am on Sunday morning – eye drops at the ready.
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