What do you think of James DeGale's prospects ?

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Lets get down to basics.
DeGale fights nothing like Robinson or Ali. He does have a Mayweather’esq style when fighting off the ropes and defending himself. I wouldn’t liken his style to that of a typical stand upright European, more American & loose armed, although he does still have some amateur nuances that are slowly being teased out….. But what do you expect of a 9 fight pro?
In terms of him fighting for world honours then at the very earliest it should be the end of 2011. But perfect prep for that would be a British defence against George Groves. Followed by a tilt at the European crown (Be it Magee or not) and finally an International fight against Librado Andrade or a Dimitri Sartison.
The majority of talent in the 168lb division resides in and around Europe so no need to be based in the states. In fact looking at BOXREC.COM the top 25 Super Middles. There are only 5 Americans in there. Dirrell who should be removed as his future is as uncertain as his acting ability. Pavlik appears in there but we know he doesn’t bring anything with the additional 8lb’s, Brinkley doesnt pose a threat and 24-19-7 Dhafir Smith on account of beating a washed up Jeff Lacey. So apart from Ward there isn’t much talent in the US.
As far as his training goes, if it isn’t broke then don’t try and fix it. He already has a great trainer in Jim McDonnell.
Finally I think he could give Froch a decent fight, but he isn’t seasoned enough to win a fight like that. Froch is a beast and would probably prove too much for DeGale over the championship distance. Bute I am not too sure about if I am being honest – Need to see more of him before making a judgement. Ward and Stieglitz are less of a threat and feel that DeGale could beat either of these two within a year’s time. Why? Because styles make fights and even though DeGale isn’t seasoned, he is technically good enough IMHO to outbox those two in 12 months

 

athink were looking at a future p4p

 

He'll definitely be the 2nd best British fighter of the past 30 years.

Given that such a list would includes Lewis, Benn, Eubank, Calzaghe, Hatton, Hamed, Khan, Froch etc etc...... DeGale has EVERYTHING.

 

I think Degale is class. To say he's unrefined is a massive complement at this stage in his career. He's looked nothing less than brilliant in every second of every round. Superb speed, accuracy, timing and combination punches underpinned with immense technique.

It'll not be long before he steps up to world level. He'll take care of Groves quite definitively, step up to Euro level where he'll either easily outpoint of KO the "12 rounders," and we'll then see him up against the semi-elite of the 168 division.

I wouldn't want to speculate any further than that. Super-middleweight is by far the most heavily contested division out there right now so to say he's going to be one of the alphabet title holders right now would be severely under-selling those holding the titles.

Really looking forward to seeing how his career unfolds from here-out.

 

He is certainly a very talented fighter. I don't want to jump on the bandwagon just yet. He hasn't really beaten anybody of note to warrant quite the adulation he gets but the big fights(and victories) will come with time. I don't really rate Smith if I'm honest, and his style worked favourably for DeGale.

There isn't much you can really fault in terms of mistakes he makes. I suppose the only things I've really noticed are that, while he's got a good jab when he puts something behind it, he often doesn't put anything behind it and throws it lazily, a more intelligent boxer may be able to exploit that but I'm sure it'll improve over time. The only other issue I have with him is how, much like Calzaghe, he sometimes squares up when he unloads punches on his opponent, you'll see it a lot in the Smith fight when he gets Smith on the ropes. It restricts the power in your shots and makes it harder to keep your balance if you're caught while doing it.

But these are only minor problems really. If anything, the fact that there isn't many other faults you can attribute to a fighter with 9 fights highlights his abundant talent if anything. Calls for a world title a premature I think, but there is no doubt that he has it in him to go all the way.

 

Precisely.

These are only two minor flaws he posseses, and they are both flaws that can easily be rectified. Even if he doesn't work on them, he'll more than likely get away with doing them. His reflexes and footwork are good enough to get him out of trouble if somebody does attempt to counter his right, and his hands are fast enough that his opponent will probably rarely throw back when he flurries, in spite of his squaring up. I also dont think it's not a good idea for him to switch stances, he very rarely does it but looks uncomfortable in doing so, and squares up more as a result. As I say though, he almost never does it so it's nothing to get overly worried about.

Like I said, I dont want to go over the top in my praise for him at an early stage, but it is evident that he has all of (or most of) the tools to make it to the top. I say Smith wasn't really a great opponent, but then again, how many guys have beaten a guy that good that impressively withing ten fights? It'll certainly be interesting to see what path he takes from here anyway, the competition will only improve and if he continues to win with such dominance, the sky is the limit.

 

he is not ducking groves...he will be fighting him this year and will beat him mark my words he is not rubbish if you think that then you know very little