I'm sorry, and I certainly don't like to call people out, but Degale's style is an endangerment to himself. Degale uses a lot of angles, but he needs to throw a hard jab to stop his opponent from walking in. A nice, crisp jab, coming from an awkward angle would be enough to offset his opponent and discourage them from attacking. Once Degale has established the jab, then he can commit to harder punches and do some flashier athletic moves, as long as he disguises them prior to committing. Right now, Degale takes substantial punishment because the guy doesn't throw the jab. These guys go out there thinking they are Bernard Hopkins who later on in his career didn't jab as much. However, that cost Hopkins at times, and he reverted to his jab during some of his best performances. If Degale can learn how to jab, he can win fights again. He should consider perhaps consulting with John David Jackson and get Degale to get back behind his jab. He will also teach him to sit down on that punch, so it will be much more effective at making his opponents hesitate. If Degale can't get his jab going, he should just retire from the sport because he will not get any better. He needs to do this for his own good and his own safety.
Degale is a true Olympic style fighter and what I mean by that is he will whup your ass for three rounds, solely based on his athleticism. Apparently, he just never had to jab and was able to beat guys over a few rounds. Well, this ain't the amateurs. It's the pros. In the pros, they go 12 rounds and at the top level, no jab will cost you the fight. Degale is very fortunate he didn't get knocked out. I mean, he just has to get it into his head to jab. He already has the movement, he just doesn't have the jab.
Good post. Degale has great footwork, lateral movement, sharp punching, good punch selection on the inside. He has all the tools. But he just doesn't control the pace well. As you said, he needs an effective jab and he needs to sit down on a punch here and there, to avoid getting hit and allowing himself to be lured into drag out fights, and to bring out the best of himself.
No way. He's an odd fighter. He needs to stick with the guy who gave him the style that has as of yet made him successful. Like Naz if you get a different fighter a traditional training you lose the total fighter.
Right now Degale is a 6 round fighter with a ton of heart. He takes an ass whuppin in the second half of the fight against these top level guys. It's just not working out for him and eventually its going to catch up to him. He was lucky to survive in there against Jack. Degale needs to slow his opponents down by gaining their respect with the jab. If Degale can't find a jab, he is doing himself a severe disservice.
