By Cliff Rold
The super middleweight headliner on January 14th would be one to look forward to even with no titles on the line. 2008 Olympic Gold Medalist James DeGale versus Badou Jack is just a good fight. With one loss apiece across a combined 47 fights, they have proven to be solid professionals.
Of course there are titles on the line and that adds to the allure. DeGale (23-1, 14 KO) holds the IBF belt while Jack (20-1-2, 12 KO) carries the WBC honors. Jack’s lone loss came via a shocking first round stoppage in 2014. He is unbeaten in five fights since with an impressive win over Anthony Dirrell and a draw with Lucian Bute that most felt he deserved to win. DeGale’s lone defeat came early in his career to George Groves; Jack was his very best in beating Groves last September.
Unification matches don’t always mean we’re seeing the two best fighters in a given class. The number of belts floating around waters things down too much for that to be a given. They do carry a clear cache though, a stamp that lets one know we are at least seeing two of the better fighters in their division.
In this case, there is an argument we are getting the two best men at 168 lbs. They are rated 1-2 by TBRB, Ring, ESPN, and USA Today. It’s a strong start to the year for Showtime.
If the fight delivers, it will also be a continuation of a growing tradition in what is still a relatively young weight class. Super middleweight as we know it today has been around only since the 1980s. It hasn’t always been a glamour class. It took several years to attract any real star power and struggled to maintain it for extended periods of time.
When the stars have aligned, and its titleholders have squared off, the results have usually gone well for fight fans.
The first two unification matches in the class both fit that mold. They were long awaited rematches between blood rivals who had delivered violent classics in lower divisions.
In June 1989, Sugar Ray Leonard and Thomas Hearns met for the second time almost eight full years after their immortal unification clash at welterweight. While rarely mentioned in the same air as their first duel, the rematch was a gem in its own right. Leonard entered the WBC titlist while Hearns was the debut WBO beltholder in the division. Hearns dropped Leonard in the third and eleventh rounds while Leonard posted memorable rallies in the fifth and final rounds. Perhaps some of the lost luster of this fight came by way of the verdict. Today, even Leonard admits he lost. Hearns settled for an egregious draw. Regardless, in terms of the in-ring action, super middleweight’s first unification clash delivered.
Four years later, in October 1993, the WBC and WBO titlists would face off again, this time in the form of UK stars Nigel Benn and Chris Eubank respectively. Anticipation was high given the bar they set in a November 1990 clash at middleweight. Eubank stopped Benn in nine rounds of an absolute war. The rematch didn’t quite hit the same level of action but they put on one hell of a show for the full twelve rounds. A number of observers though Benn did enough to win but Eubank was always a little lucky on the scorecards and an earned point deduction weighed heavily against Benn. He settled for a draw.
It would be more than a decade before another unification clash in the division. This time, there was a winner. IBF titlist Sven Ottke had already notched sixteen defenses when he faced WBA titlist Byron Mitchell in March 2003. Ottke fights, and decisions, were often a source of controversy. It was less the case in this one though there was room for debate at the end. While not a classic, both men provided the fan’s their money’s worth with Mitchell struggling to contain the activity of the light hitting Ottke and Ottke gutting his way through some tough moments against the power puncher. Ottke would retire undefeated with 21 defenses of the IBF belt and four with the WBA strap.
The next trio of unification clashes led to a final showdown of sorts and ultimately cemented the divisional legacy of eventual Hall of Famer Joe Calzaghe. It started in March 2006. Calzaghe made his 18th defense against IBF titlist Jeff Lacy. Lacy entered favored by many; he was never in the fight. Calzaghe put a career changing beating on Lacy, dazzling him with combinations in a high volume attack. It wasn’t a great fight but it was an unforgettable performance. Lacy never quite recovered and Calzaghe defended the IBF belt once.
In October of the same year, WBC titlist Mikkel Kessler squared off with WBA beltholder Markus Beyer. It might have been the least of the unification matches recalled here but at least delivered a decisive finish. Kessler nailed Beyer in the third for a one-punch knockout and the build was on.
In what would be his final of 21 WBO defenses, Calzaghe defeated Kessler in November 2007 in what turned out to be both a very good fight and a standout performance. The contest was tight for the first four rounds but Calzaghe started to find another gear in the fifth. Adapting to the strong jab and forward march of Kessler, Calzaghe’s voluminous awkward shots and underrated footwork started to flummox his younger, undefeated foe. He hurt Kessler to the body in the ninth and went on to win a decision in front of some 50,000 fans in his native Wales.
The last two unification matches hosted in the division both featured Carl Froch with clearly distinguished results.
The first, in December 2011, was the culmination of the two-year “Super Six” tournament in the class. Froch had gone 2-1 in the preliminary rounds, losing the WBC belt to Mikkel Kessler only to regain the then-vacant belt against Artur Abraham when Kessler withdrew from the tournament with injuries. Ward, 3-0 in the prelims, had defeated Kessler in the opening round for the WBA belt. After both men won semi-final outings they were paired with Ward a solid favorite. Ward met the billing, countering and outboxing Froch for much of the night and weathering some late rallies to earn a unanimous decision.
Froch would get a second chance to leave a ring double belted in May 2013. Purists can put an asterisk next to this one as Kessler came into his rematch with Froch with a sub-version of the WBA belt while Ward continued on as the WBA’s “super” champion. For the sake of completeness, it is included here. Froch gained revenge on Kessler that night via decision in fight that wasn’t quite as wild as their first encounter but still gave the fans a night to remember.
What will we get next Saturday? Is it going to turn into a war? Will it be a tactical clash a la Ottke-Mitchell? Could one man pull away with a performance in the vein of Calzaghe-Lacy? We won’t know until they step into the ring.
What we do know is that history says unification matches at super middleweight usually deliver. It’s up to Jack and DeGale to continue the trend.
Cliff Rold is the Managing Editor of BoxingScene, a founding member of the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board, and a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be reached at roldboxing@hotmail.com