Comments Thread For: James DeGale: I Literally Fought Badou Jack With One Arm

[BIGPOPPAPUMP]

IT HAS BEEN great to finally get myself ready for a fight on home territory but, you know what, I actually didn't mind going away a few weeks before my fights because you can cut yourself off and are away from everything. No hassle or bother from anyone is nice, but I am still over the moon to be back at home now. Training has gone well and it actually feels a bit weird having taper down week at home. It has put me at ease and it is a little bit more relaxing sparring is easier to sort and weight is easier to make.
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[Scopedog]

Someone teach this dunce what the word literally means

[wrecksracer]

What about the fight before that? You looked like krap in that one, too. How do you still have title?

[TheBigLug]

Yeah, he literally doesn't understand the word literally

[Caught Square]

He obviously had an issue but I doubt if it's as bad as he's making out. Like he said he was gonna fight Callum Smith in the summer and then only decided to have surgery when that fell through. Plus I saw him bragging about how good his right hook was against Bute (while pointing out that was the last time his right shoulder was good) but I thought he looked poor in that fight which was razor thin.

[Boxing Logic]

He has mixed with decent opponents, but every time he has stepped up to the highest level, he has been beaten.

Holy ****. A fighter signed with Al Haymon who is actually being real. Someone actually telling the truth. Someone posting a blog that actually seems like he wrote it, not some PR person or a promoter. With just that one sentence right there, Degale made a new fan in me who wasn't much of one before. The shoulder "excuse" for the very poor Jack performance (By world class standards) also helps because it actually seems very legitimate (but we will find out soon), as well as the sports science stuff (Kovalev also neglected that and also gassed out badly... he will need to adjust as Degale has if he wants to seriously fix that). Then to top it off, Degale also wrote:

Assuming all goes well, my ideal for next year would be the WBC world champion David Benavidez in the early part, which should be easy to make, then the winner or the Super Series or WBO champion Gilberto Ramirez.

Usually with PBC fighters, you have fans in the comments pointing all the interesting fights they want to see with a certain fighter, but then that fighter and/or Al are always pushing for every matchup BESIDES those fights. And yet holy ****, for one of the first times ever, Degale actually picked THE two opponents that I want to see him fight, and he says he wants them back to back. Well, three opponents if you include the winner of the WBSS, but we don't know who that will be yet. But regardless, certainly, the Benavidez fight is most intriguing to see how well his power and combination punching transfers to the top level, the Ramirez fight is tied for most intriguing to FINALLY get a barometer on where the HBO super middleweights stack up to Showtime's, and then the WBSS winner could be slightly less or slightly more intriguing than those fights depending on who it is.

And then, if only GGG were 30 years old not 35, the winner of those fights would fight him in his move up to 168...

Great blog Degale! Hope you stay healthy, and that you never fight injured again, because it now appears you are one of the rare boxers these days interested in making the best fights for the fans, and yet your longevity in the sport will not sustain itself long enough to actually hold up your side of the billing in those matchups at the top of the super middleweight division if you keep taking sustained beatings from big punchers like Jack due to the fact you are fighting injured. I admire your bravery, but I admire it in being willing to fight scary opponents without needing to wait until they get old, or needing to cheat by holding or having corrupt refs on your side, or any other unfair advantage. Being brave means fighting the best on even terms, where both of you follow the rules of boxing. But being brave does NOT mean fighting the best while you are at such a severe physical disadvantage that you put yourself in danger, shorten your career, and aren't physically able to hold up your side of the "best vs best" equation because you are not close to at your best.

As a fan, I want to see the best vs best AT each of their best. No one wants another Haye-Bellew situation, at least no one besides Bellew fans. Best of luck James! Stay healthy, train smart, dont get into gym wars that shorten your career, and if you are going to deliver the fights you've mentioned, I look forward to Benavidez, Ramirez, and the WBSS winner, and doing them back to back is great! If you get through one easily, then make the next one right away asap. If you get through it in a tough grueling fight, as a fan you always want to see next good fight next, but if you do that, just make sure you give your brain and body enough time to recuperate before going back into sparring and another fight. I'm not advocating boring tuneups (where the tuneup opponent just ends up taking way MORE brain damage against a far superior opponent than any top boxer normally would even in three tough fights against other top opponents in a row because at least those are EVENLY matched), all Im saying is be smart and do it by the book, whatever the science says is enough time for the brain and body to recuperate. Boxing will never be 100% safe but you know what I mean. Just do not pull a Francisco Vargas or Chocolatito where they sign up for beatings back to back only a few months apart. Either do fights that go well for you every couple months, or if you're in very tough fights, you can still do them back to back, but it should be more like, well, who knows, talk to an en expert scientist/doc for this, but every seven months maybe, eight, five or six if it wasn't TOO grueling, six to eight if it was below the level of the Jack fight, 10 to 15 months or so if it's worse than the Jack fight. You get the idea. You've made a new fan! Looking forward to your next fight!

[Holler]

Someone teach this dunce what the word literally means

He needs a trip to see this fella:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uYSW2ttp470

[DoomOnHorseback]

I've got a lot of time for Chunky. Should see off this guy tomorrow night.
Also looking forward to seeing Yarde step up a level to fight Sjekloca. I think this fight will show us if he's the real deal or not.

[EnglishOxide]

I seem to remember this prick bragging about being in the best shape of his career before the Jack fight.

With a nutritionist and all that ****, and he also looked in great shape at the time.

He's full of **** this guy. Way too inactive and big mouthed and uses fake injuries to cover up for looking ****.

His ego took a hit from the beating Jack laid up on him so he has fabricated excuses.

[Willy Wanker]

Someone teach this dunce what the word literally means

Yeah, it's not like he was dismembered when they fought.