James DeGale Signs with Warren, Turns Pro in 09

[BIGPOPPAPUMP]

According to The Guardian, British middleweight boxer James DeGale, who won a gold medal in the 2008 Olympic games in Beijing, is going to debut in the pro ranks in early 2009. After being courted by promoters from both sides of the ocean, including Top Rank and Golden Boy Promotions, DeGale reached an agreement with the biggest promoter in the UK, Frank Warren [details]

[The Monk]

News just in...Degale is now ranked number 3 in the WBO rankings.

[hammerhiem]

News just in...Degale is now ranked number 3 in the WBO rankings.

And has called out Pwill, Frank Warren was quoted as saying "It's a PPV event for sure"

[KostyaTszyu44]

yeah i hear they have a great test for him in his first few fights

i hear hes 0-56 and was a bantamweight in the 40's hes dead but even so he still has a "dangerous right hand and an iron chin" according to warren who is working on excavating the gravesite

[AndyShitHot]

Expect to see James DeGale on a ****ty Amir Khan PPV soon.

[KostyaTszyu44]

Expect to see James DeGale on a ****ty Amir Khan PPV soon.

yeah, probably fighting some poor ancient blown up welterweight with a losing record,although he'll be in good company as amir will probably still be fighting 40 year old former bantamweights who have like 1 ko win in their last 20 fights......

[AndyShitHot]

He'll be 7-0 at the end of 2009 without breaking a sweat.

[hammerhiem]

To be fair you should be fighting bums for the first 20 fights or so, thats how you learn the ring knowledge, but it's all to easy to overstate who these guys are fighting and turn them into world contenders before they've fought anyone of any standard to make them a contender.

The problem is that the old route of Bums -> journeymen -> National champ + 2-3 defences -> Regional champ + 2-3 defences -> eliminations.

is no longer the way it happens, that way you know what level people are at, the fight bums and then world title shot leads to people pushed to far too fast and hype jobs.

Unfortunately for people like Warren it's all about money not developping fighters properly.

[beecherhq]

From what i've seen he hasn't got the style to do great things in the pros, he tailored his style to win and manipulate the ****ty olypmic scoring. The irish guy Darren Sutherland who frank maloney has sign would smash Degale to bits in the pros.

[Mugwump]

IIRC, De Gale is around 22. A lot will depend on how much weight and power he picks up as part of the natural growing process over the next couple of years. I don't think he'll ever be a big hitter. He just needs enough sting in his punching to keep the power hitters at bay whilst he picks them off with that handspeed and timing advantage. Oh, and there's the question of his chin. Britain's last two Olympic successes (Audley and Amir) aren't particularly well-endowed in that department.

He has the makings of a classy boxer-type. But there's a long way to go yet.