Read an article earlier saying james degale will fight one of the following Kessler - feel this has a good look to it, though I'd fancy james to take a wide points win... Mikkel looked a lot more ring worn last time out. Andre Dirrell - interesting as Andre has been getting some wins under his belt & gathering steam , but is he wha he once was. Feel maybe too much of an ask against degale Rocky fielding - surely this Is a joke, no way does this fight get made , degale must hope for this, he'd walk through rocky - with ease - ranked 9 by IBF but I don't see this getting made at all. Hearn wants to keep rocky's 0 as long as possible. Thoughts? Summed up I'd say out of those degale is a clear winner tbh
Kessler hasn't fought for a year and 7 months. I don't think he's relevant anymore. I think Degale would KO Andre Dirrell in a tough fight. Fielding isn't worth mentioning as a Degale opponent.
to be fair to fielding, he's probably the most deserving out of the 3 to get a shot, how dirrells got so high up the rankings by beating a few stiffs I don't know. Kessler needs a come back fight first I think, against a periban kind of fighter never really warmed to degale, but he's likely to be a belt holder before the year end.
For me Degale beats all three of them, knocking out both Fielding and Dirrell. I think the most deserving person to fight Degale in the IBF top 10 is Gilberto Ramirez Sanchez who is currently ranked #3. He has been in with a few decent guys in recent times. He and Degale also both fought and beat Fulgencio Zuniga, Ramirez TKO8 (2014) and Degale UD (2012), so they have something to compare against. Ramirez also has a KO% of 80 so he can bang which makes it that little more interesting. However, again I think Degale wins comfortably by mid to late stoppage. Especially considering Ramirez has never been in a scheduled 12 rounder never mind gone the 12 rounds. For me, Degale is the most underated boxer not only in the British world level scene but in the world scene in general. Since he got over his injury he has had two world class performances against fringe world level guys, especially Gonzales, and stopped them both early. I think he wins the belt and goes on to unify against any other SM in the future, Groves, P Smith, Abraham, Fielding, Dirrell, (barring Ward and in the future C Smith when he gets to that level, but for me both of those fights are 60:40 and 50:50 fights).
Yep , agree with all the above about whose deserving / not deserving .. And agree with the comment that maybe fielding is the most "worthy" however lets be frank, he's not actually world class is he, not by a long shot.
hope he wins and groves beats dirrell and then it would be a epic unification fight between them, Wembley summer time quigg vs Frampton as well and fury vs Joshua we can dream lol
Unless Kessler has aged massively I would back him to KO Degale but I would take Degale points wins in the other two
Dirrell looked very good last fight aside from that one punch in the 12th that hurt him. This fight would be close to 50/50 and I don't think DeGale takes it. There is a reason Hearn wants DeGale vs Groves. Even though the last two fights DeGale has stopped his opponents, he's not stopping any of the upper echelon SMWs. I don't consider Groves elite anymore as he has looked mediocre at best after the Froch rematch.
All well and good saying he looked good last time out but who was he fighting? Dereck Edwards? No disrespect too him but Dirrell should be fighting at a much higher level than that and in my opinion doesn't even deserve a shot at any title.
Yes, Edwards isn't a great fighter but Dirrell is getting a title shot regardless of if he deserves it or not. What has Groves done to deserve a title shot? He's coming off two stoppage losses to Froch and two wins against bums himself.
Suddenly Degale knocks everyone out? Loses on points to Dirrell, beats Fielding on pts, depends what Kessler has left in the tank
Kessler would be a great fight for him to take. Kessler might be a bit past his best but it would show how good Degale is right now. The fight against Andre will be a bit of a chess match. Both are skilled and very athletic. I expected more from Andre as he is very talented, but lacks the mental belief. Degale is stronger in this regard and I think will be more of the aggressor. Not a load of action and if you blink you could miss something. Depends on which Andre turns up and if Degale can connect with anything solid. I'd give the edge to Dirrell. Don't know anything about Fielding.