Rate DeGale's performance

9/10

Last night he showed near enough everything.His defence was absolutley superb,at times it was like watching Floyd.He picked his shots well and countered to near perfection.
A couple of negatives;first a few of his punches he threw didn't land with the knuckle part of the glove,which even got a ticking off from the ref,and the only other possible ***** in his armour from what i saw last night is that maybe he doesn't have that one punch concussive knockout power ~ it was a tremendous performance though and massive props must go to him for taking the fight so early and in Smiths back garden.

 

degale

groves is too open and cant fight on the inside

he's no david haye and this isn't the heavyweight division where this style works better

 

His attitude in the ring is great. He needs to sort out his right hook and needs to stop slapping so much, but he has plenty of time to improve and has impressed me immensely. Almost perfect performance last night.

If he and Groves fought now I would bet on DeGale.

 

His self confidence is infectious, i still think he cuffs alot of his shots and slaps, backhands also. Saying that i had the feeling he was in total control and could have put his foot on the gas at any time and stopped it?? But was showing caution and restraint, and showing smith respect. Im not a fan yet, although he looked very imposing.

 

I give him 8.5 out 10. His punching needs to be cleaner, a bit too sloppy at times, but it's all there. He has that long reach that is key for him, long reach plus speed. As far as the persona goes, great! The game needs characters. A bit of arrogance is okay.

 

DeGale

Booth after pausing and looking for answers, Trying to muster some belief. Said ''because Groves..is a good pressure fighter''.

No Adam he's not. You've tried to recreate another David Haye. His stance is far to wide to be good enough to pressure. He hasn't got the reactions or the reflexes to utilize it nor the compact and precise punching to cause Degale issues. Aswell as fact he doesn't punch with volume. His punches are to wide for me against DeGale he will have a field day.

I can see him getting stuck at end of DeGale's jab and trying to loop shots over and getting countered for fun. DeGale wouldn't even have to back up he could box him from anywhere in ring. He's just far Superior.

 

Bang on

 

I'm ****ing glad the Smith bandwagon has finally been derailed, Smith is such a not good fighter, he doesn't box, he doesn't agress in any effective manner, he doesn't invest in anything, combos, jabs, footwork, bodywork, he just throws hard punches wit an angry face, terrible. He has a good chin though. Degale's biggest attribute was his generalship, that's supposed to be something that comes with time and experience, very impressive. He totally controlled the distance and pace of the fight, by moving around stepping here and there, feinting with his shoulders, jabbing, Smith could never get set. I thought the stoppage was premature slightly but the man was outclassed and it was coming.

 

Agreed

 

Awesome, very classy. Thrives on the hostility. He's defo going places IMO. if he's sensible, trains well, gets his head down, continues his current progression, future world champ.

 

smith was made for someone with degales silky skills,sensational performance from james,hes going all the way.......smith way overrated .

 

Great performance last night from Chunky.

BUT ..... some on ESB need to remember that Smith was a decent domestic level fighter...that is all. There's a thread in General saying that DeGale would beat Dirrell at this stage in his career.

For me, last night showed that DeGale has got potential to reach world level. He's not there yet of course, he's only had 9 fights!

 

A class act. Awesome speed, timing and variety. 9/10.

 

Near perfect. He has everything, very similar fighter to Ward. Was very impressed with the way he handled the atmosphere. Paul Smith is a decent domestic level fighter and to beat him in his 9th fight is impressive. I hope a fight with Groves can be made next.