Degale vs Truax II - Under the Microscope

Shocking, I'm focusing & discussing what's going on in boxing as opposed to bouts that have been cancelled and are not occurring. Imagine that kind of talk dominating a boxing forum...?

I only saw the bout out of the corner of my eye as it took place live, and even then only the last third of the fight or so. I finally sat down today, pen and notepad in hand, to watch the fight intently and to try & surmise what happened and why it occurred that way.

Before the bout progressed any the commentators noted that Degale had only spent, and I quote, two months "seriously" sparring for the first Truax bout, after having his right shoulder reconstructed via surgery sometime following the Badou Jack fight. No big deal, until the 16 to 1 underdog started to apply creeping, mounting, steady pressure over the first half of the bout, culminating in the fifth round.

Degale has a terrible first six rounds in this bout, to put it mildly. He paws with his punches & hardly throws anything with real conviction or spite. There is no sharp punching or countering on display from the supposedly skilled and shifty Degale.

Degale, a noted switch hitter, spent this entire fight as a southpaw, which seemed to suit Caleb Truax if anything, as Truax landed only one left hook of importance in the entire bout. He is almost entirely a right handed fighter, firing it out & reloading repeatedly for the entire duration of his fights. He's like a wind up toy solider with the delivery of that right hand, in almost Pacquiao centric spam like fashion. Caleb's entire game revolves around it. He began doubling the right hand early in the first Degale match and it paid dividends several times over the course of the bout.

I'll post my write-up on the second half of this bout if anywhere cares enough to contribute their own thoughts and or feelings. My gut summary is this... Degale is a level above Truax but he's a compromised, war torn fighter with a completely reconstructed right shoulder. When you can no longer use your lead arm to effectively jab, you can no longer dictate the terms or pace of a fight. Against a pressure fighter with a good punch this spells doom.

 

This bout was way more brutal than I had initially heard. Degale actually really gets the **** kicked out of him and looks rough after the fight. You can't help but constantly think about the Badou Jack fight as even the biased commentators routinely bring up the devastating nature of the grueling bout... a blown ear drum, missing teeth... Like some kind of albatross Degale has to carry around his neck from now on after all the dubious decisions throughout his career....

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The fight starts fairly slow but Truax ratchets it up until around the 5th, which was a brutal round that I personally wouldn't be against scoring 10-8.

Degale actually really puts his foot down starting in round 7 and begins to jab better, set his feet, he even occasionally attempts to walk Truax down. He also begins throwing punches with spite for the first time in the fight, trying to back Truax up. He was busted up and bloody after 5 however and Truax still rallied in more than one late round to even further bust Degale up.

Degale is the ultimate bull**** artist in the ring. Routinely fights in front of massive crowds that adore him and he knows how to play them. Tons of light flicking jabs, he likes to uppercut and spin his opponents to make them look foolish...Basically, he likes to steal rounds but didn't look to have the energy or sharpness to do it against a solid B-Level fighter in Truax. I really don't know what Degale is going to do so dramatically different 4 months later?

British commentators also noted that Truax stated he had extensively watched that Badou Jack fight and knew how to take it to Degale. Considering how badly he beat him, how many flush punches he landed, I'll flat out take his word for it. He and his team really looked like they had Degale and his flashy **** figured out.

 

What do you feel is going to be different this time around?

 

He wasn't injured for the first one, he was in the exact same situation he is now... rehabilitating a just operated on and rebuilt shoulder that obviously doesn't work as well as it used to.

Compare the authority and consistency of Degale's right hand work in this bout to anything pre-Jack. The difference is night and day.

I'm imagining Truax gets by Degale and then decapitated by Ooze-Cat, whom I personally think is one of the most dangerous, improved and underrated fighters around his weight class.

 

Thanks for the responses everybody! Great stuff so far.