Degale - Groves 2 will be interesting (spoilers inside)

Degale doesn't deserve a rematch.

 

DeGale beats Groves second time around. Groves was at his very best, and DeGale was poor, lacked ideas and completely underestimated him, and I think he still won the fight. He won't make the same mistakes again. :rasta

 

Why? A lot of people thought he done enough to win. Especially considering the dreadful scoring for round 12. He's now European champion after beating Wilczewski, better than any Groves opponent. :rasta

 

But Groves beat DeGale, so by extending your logic, he's better than the Pole!

The "dreadful" scoring for round 12? What the one where DeGale (as per the whole fight) landed on arms and got clocked with clean shots. James is all sound but no fury in that round.

Why should Groves give him a rematch? It's not like DeGale beat him around the ring and got robbed. He lost a close fight - if DeGale was actually better hed have won it.

Also, Groves just knocked out a common opponent in much better style than DeGale managed. Clear KO2 > soft TKO9 (or whatever it was).

Of course, the Johnny Nelson "covering my arse" response. We saw in DeGale's next fight that he's clueless when he's denied his preferred range. Groves took advantage of it. That was not the worst of DeGale, it's just DeGale.

 

Quite a lot of people disagree with that statement, including myself, yes, it was a close fight, but I think DeGale edged it, it was by no means a decisive victory was it? DeGale has too many yes men on his team, the same fellas who tell him he's the best thing since sliced bread. If he ditches his trainer for a decent one, screws his head on and starts working harder, then I have no doubt in my mind he'll beat Groves, and he'll make it look easy.

And Smith is a terrible common opponent, Groves was always going to drop him once he landed. He's younger, fresher and better against a fading opponent who blocks punches with his grid. Smith certainly didn't land on DeGale like he did on Groves. To each their own. :rasta

 

I felt Groves beat DeGale when they fought. Its easy to listen to the commentary and get carried away, but just watch the fight.
When one fighter lands and the other pot shots, people tend to remember the pot shots rather than the whole fight. DeGale pot shotted but didnt land more and didnt land harder.
Groves was a close but clear winner. I like both Groves and DeGale and didnt want either to lose and as it is we are lucky to have two good prospects rather than one, but lets not remove the fact that Groves was a deserved winner, just because DeGale has done so well in winning the European title.
I want both to get to the top and then have a rematch when they have achieved their dreams rather than ruin one before they get there

 

Groves has wins of Degale and Anderson, there better then that pole.

 

Smith caught Groves flush and Groves was in more trouble than Degale ever was.

The 12th round was a clear Degale round to the unbiased observer.

I thought the fight was a draw but couldn't argue either way.

One thing is for sure, if Groves lands cleanly on Degale like he did vs Smith, Degale will go. I think we all agree that Degale will ultimately fail if he stays with McDonnell.

 

Minus DeGale, Kenny Anderson is a good fighter but he's done nothing to suggest he's better than the pole. The pole has beaten better fighters and is much more proven than Anderson. :rasta

 

Right, so you agree with me that it was a close fight. I find it hard to swing it for DeGale, the most he deserved was a draw. That or one round for Groves is a fair decision. And hey, the judges agreed with me which makes me right - HA!

So, once he does all those things, he'll become a completely different fighter and beat a guy that's beaten him twice and do it easily? That's weird... is this in the same way that Froch lost clearly to Kessler and somehow his fans decided he'd "easily" win a rematch?

Laughable wish-fulfilment there, buddy.

Bet you weren't saying that before Groves smashed Smith to pieces - DeGale couldn't even put him down. In fact, I bet you were one of the clowns who said beating Smith made DeGale world class because of how he did it. Well, Groves did it in even better fashion - does that make him world class?

Smith landed twice. And as soon as Groves decided not to be too ambitious he immediately got an opening and banged Smith out. In two rounds.

Are you trying to argue that Smith isn't a decent barometer for both men's abilities?

 

Groves will beat Degale in any future fight, he has the much better attitude and team around him.
Degale is surrounded by yes men and although he has far more potential than Groves, he has no chance of reaching it whilst he is with Mcdonell.

 

Of course it was a close fight, I never disputed that, surely that alone is a decent basis for a rematch instead of completely dismissing DeGale's chances? You can check my post history, I never rated Smith, never have and never will, he's a domestic gatekeeper at best. He didn't test either fighter, so no, I don't think it is a decent barometer. I don't even think he's a SMW, but that's a different story I suppose!

DeGale has excellent fundamentals, but his attitude stinks, of course there would be an improvement, it's only logical to assume that. But, as I say, to each their own, I look forward to Groves-DeGale II :rasta

 

Its funny how opinion swings back & forth between these two.

DeGale was the better & more accomplished amatuer despite the loss to Groves but was booed & heckled on his lacklustre pro debut.

Early on in their pro careers Groves seemed to be the better prospect & was widely favoured until the Anderson fight, which added to the manner of DeGale's British title win over Smith led to a big swing towards James having the most potential.

Then the pair met on a memorable night, not the most explosive 12 rounds of action but compelling viewing & Groves, the underdog, edged a very close fight by the width of a Rizla.

After Groves blowing Smith away on Saturday he's being placed on a pedestal high above DeGale, who has come through a tough & testing fight against a good European champion.

IMO there is very little between them inside the ring, if they fought this weekend, next year or the year after it will be a close, competitive fight. No chance of a rematch anytime soon but I look forward to the next chapter.

 

I think you're misunderstanding what I'm saying: I'm not saying Smith was more of a challenge for DeGale, simply that Groves did what you're meant to do when you're a level above: take them out clean. DeGale leathered Smith but never really hurt him.

And DeGale has excellent fundamentals? Really? Are you sure?

Go and watch his fights: terrible footwork, he can't throw a hook properly, he flicks his jab as a rangefinder rather than using it to set up his offence, and he's so one-handed it's untrue.

Groves beat him because he has such poor fundamentals - he was able to take advantage of them. The Pole was able to fight with him because DeGale has poor fundamentals.

 

Great post - only one thing I disagree with though: Groves was always second string to DeGale. Many on here felt DeGale would win easily and then turned him into the T-1000 after he handled Smith.

I don't think anyone's putting Groves on a pedestal, if anything he's getting none of the ****-sucking DeGale got for doing a worse job on Smith than George did. He's a developing fighter and, unlike James and his crew, he admits it.