Could Degale v Mendy be an eliminator for the WBO title ? Or Dirrell who is ranked #1 by the WBO be made mandatory challenger ? The WBO champion Robert Stieglitz has fought his last mandatory Gutknecht on 17 April. WBO rules say that the Champion should defend once at 9 months that means he normally should defend the latest on 17 January but will probably get an extension if an WBO eliminator bout is to be sanctioned. When a Champion must make a mandatory defense, the Mandatory Challenger shall be the highest classified available boxer who, in the judgment of the World Championship Committee, best satisfies their criteria. 1 Andre Dirrell USA (Injured*) 2 Arthur Abraham ARM (Super Six) 3 Jean Paul Mendy FRA This content is protected 4 Renan St. Juste CAN (fighting Miranda) 5 James DeGale GB This content is protected 6 Karoly Balzsay HUN This content is protected Dirrell's camp can notice the WBO that he's injury period is over and request be be recognized as Mandatory Challenger. He can be rejected based on the 3rd criteria for not having a contract with a television HBO/SHOWTIME/ESPN etc. Is it to soon For Degale? Balzsay is another posible opponent for him for a possible WBO title eliminator.
Degale can also be rejected by the WBO for an eliminator because of his 9-0 record, which might be considerate not being acceptable. And the eliminator might be Mendy v Balzsay
DeGale would beat Mendy easily already. I don't know whether Frank Warren is going to rush him though because he has a history of doing the exact opposite. I think DeGale is good enough now and he's the type of fighter who will not improve given easy fights, so I'd say make it happen. I'd put a lot of money on DeGale and win a lot too.
Bute should be fighting Mendy, but Degale vs JPM is a good fight IMO and the first real test of Degale's career. He would beat Mendy in my opinion, but I think a lot of people underestimate the frenchman. It could be closer than most people think.
how about DeGeale facing Howard Eastman? That way he could get rid of a name English fighter, learn a few tricks from someone who s been with some big players (Hopkins anyone) and defend the british title. Then could unify with Groves (CW,BR) and move on to do bigger and better things. just sayin...
Mendy will likely not fight an eliminator due to him being lined up for a more lucrative fight with Bute. I think it's too early for Degale, so his management should pass this opportunity if need be. This paves the way for Stieglitz to defend against Balszay (if he's ready) which would be fight appealing to german fans as both are known commodities.
Mendy would be a perfect way for DeGale to dip his toes in the world class waters without getting dunked headfirst in the deep end.
Figthers withdrawing from the Super Six can't fight until the whole thing is over I believe, and even Dr. Shaw Hi can't change that. I'm not sure if Warren is ready to throw Chunky in an eliminator just yet, but I believe he can take Mendy right now, not a bad option at all. But as DeGale said, expect some UK/Euro level fights first, no need to rush anything.
Do you think a eliminator against Balzsay would be more attractive for him ? Supposing Mendy won't want to give up on the money he can make against Bute for the IBF.
Mendy is French :yep. He's Euro , an Euro-Level. It's just that he will grab with all his might the "IBF Mandatory Challenger" title even if Bute and his team said he doesn't want to fight him, because he practically got Ko'ed in first round by Bika
