James Degale sudden decline

I think jack took his soul he was beat up pretty bad by the end of that fight. Never been the same since.

 

Porky Medina gave DeGale a tough fight before Jack, but I don't think DeGale was living the life to be honest.

Desire was no longer there.

 

Medina was robbed on the cards and gave him a beating.Bute have him some stick also.

 

Groves summed it up best in that post fight boxing social interview

DeGale was punch hard and concussed from the Jack fight, and he has stayed punched and concussed ever since then.

He shouldn’t have taken the Eubank JR fight if he was that shot, as his health is the most important thing.

His timing was off, footwork off, reflexes gone and he had punchitis. Just a classic case of being shot. He should have retired after the First Truax fight but perhaps he hasn’t been responsible with his money.

 

I feel bad for chunky, his two best wins were robbed from him due to bad judging in the Groves and Jack fights. Holds good wins over Dirrell and Bute though.

Time to hang them up.

 

Punches to the head and a drink + drug lifestyle. Degale will be a mess in a few years I can guarantee.

 

Started thinking he was better than he is, that he didnt need to work to win, and the delusion grew.

Also having a minger mum lol.

 

Something that was evident last night, even in the post fight interview, he was so close to saying " He wouldn't beat me at my best"....I think he struggles in front of a camera

 

I seen decline in the bute fight... bute did alright to be honest in that one. Degale seemed to just lose some focus I felt he should have won a few fights wider.. all the skill couldn't put it together sometimes would just want to hug.

 

Thing is, he was that consistant with losing focus I think that was his style, like a weird way of having to conserve energy naturally..Weird, because his trainer puts him through the mill to get him right.. He always had only 6-8 good rounds in him, and that's what made his fights close even when he was obviously more skilled and better !

 

He did far better than I ever expected when he turned pro, he had such an amateurish style, didn't think it would ever transition well into the pro game, but I give him credit he made changes in his style and became a better fighter than I though he would. At his best he would of schooled Eubank Jr, what we saw last night was a fighter who was a shadow of his former self.

But his lifestyle eventually caught up with him and it perhaps made fights tougher than they should have been due to his tendency to lose focus and go from controlling fights to suddenly being in a close fought battle. I think had his conditioning been better he may have lost focus less, when you tire you struggle to focus and concentrate and that when mistakes happen. He was known for being lazy at times and living a party lifestyle that didn't benefit his boxing career and it's clear that lifestyle and the tough fights that came from cutting corners led him to being shot before he really should be.

 

He's had a great career but he's physically shot now, whether that be from tough fights, not living the life outside the ring or a mixture of both. He retires with an Olympic Gold and as a 2x World Champion which is not shabby at all.

Last night was just him cashing out and who can blame him.

I've never been a big fan of DeGale's personality but as a fighter he's had an interesting journey.

 

Degale for all his achievements and he has had a very good career, he is actually an underachiever imo. He never really had a dance partner who he could make a killing with like Froch vs Groves. He never won any of his big matches convincingly he always left room for criticism, the clearest example is the Dirrell fight where he almost let the fight slip in the second half. He had all the gifts necessary to be an amazing SMW but his stamina, concentration and arrogance always seems to be missing.

 

His desire wasnt there long ago. I think the big difference is his reaction time and foot speed. Degale of old relied on that and he look great. Now as its diminished he is more in the line of fire and gets tagged a lot more now.