James Degale

[lefty]

Il be honest, i havent liked the way he's come across over the years he's been a pro but im actually starting to change my perception of him! Admittedly he still says some stupid things at times but nobody is perfect. Anyway this interview done by Ifilm after his fight on saturday has definietly made me see him in a different light! He seems an alright guy actually and I agree with his point on Groves. Groves is actually coming across more and more as a prick as time goes by in my opinion..... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RL12eG7iNoA

[ThereByTheGrace]

I don't tend to bother with what Degale says, rather what he does in the ring.

He isn't bad, but he would be a lot better if he didn't leave himself wide open when on the attack. He has serious flaws in his style which will ensure he comes unstuck at a higher level.

Sakio Bika would be too good for him I think.

[DMA1987]

Groves is getting more confident, and arrogant with it. I honestly think you put them in the ring together now Degale gets stopped.

Over rated, can look silky but isn't silky enough to avoid shots from the main guys.

[Coco]

I don't tend to bother with what Degale says, rather what he does in the ring.

He isn't bad, but he would be a lot better if he didn't leave himself wide open when on the attack. He has serious flaws in his style which will ensure he comes unstuck at a higher level.

Sakio Bika would be too good for him I think.

Bika would be tough for anyone to beat, even Calzaghe struggled, Degale needs Groves far more than Groves needs him and I think Degale would need to have a title to secure another rematch

[mickey1975]

Groves is getting more confident, and arrogant with it. I honestly think you put them in the ring together now Degale gets stopped.

Over rated, can look silky but isn't silky enough to avoid shots from the main guys.

I don't. I think his chin is sound. Groves knew not to try bomb him out and he knows him as we'll as anyone.

[JC]

He's my favourite British prospect along with Selby. Hopefully he steps up his defence as he move up in class.

[ShadrachSimmo]

He could do with not fighting anymore has beens and nobodies. Be great to see him in with Bika who I think would do a number on him.

[Final round]

Groves is getting more confident, and arrogant with it. I honestly think you put them in the ring together now Degale gets stopped.

Over rated, can look silky but isn't silky enough to avoid shots from the main guys.

I don't. I think his chin is sound. Groves knew not to try bomb him out and he knows him as we'll as anyone.

Very good point.

[Amazing Skills]

The problem with his style is that he attacks and dips without any regard for counters, but so far the guys he has fought do not counter him, the top boys will.

[hurlock]

Regarding groves the mass majority of the public & fight fans didnt see his stupid vt releases calling & slagging degale amongst other fighters. But they saw him silent in a tie looking like a penus once the fight got made & he never fought like a challenger v degale who never had a great night but I felt groves never done enough to steal the belt.

Degale is disliked but is genuine & says exactly what's going on in his head unlike media savvy basically booths puppet,. He has deffo took on booths persona which ain't a bad thing apart from having no identity.
I ain't a groves fan,.I rate him as a fighter that's it.

Degale to me loves getting involved & giving the fans a good show. He seriously needs to curb this or will shorten his career.people need to get behind him he is a warrior & has the lot

[lefty]

Regarding groves the mass majority of the public & fight fans didnt see his stupid vt releases calling & slagging degale amongst other fighters. But they saw him silent in a tie looking like a penus once the fight got made & he never fought like a challenger v degale who never had a great night but I felt groves never done enough to steal the belt.

Degale is disliked but is genuine & says exactly what's going on in his head unlike media savvy basically booths puppet,. He has deffo took on booths persona which ain't a bad thing apart from having no identity.
I ain't a groves fan,.I rate him as a fighter that's it.

Degale to me loves getting involved & giving the fans a good show. He seriously needs to curb this or will shorten his career.people need to get behind him he is a warrior & has the lot

The suit and tie that Groves wore on ringside in the build up to that fight looked like something you would wear for a bet!

[DMA1987]

Groves is getting more confident, and arrogant with it. I honestly think you put them in the ring together now Degale gets stopped.

Over rated, can look silky but isn't silky enough to avoid shots from the main guys.

I don't. I think his chin is sound. Groves knew not to try bomb him out and he knows him as we'll as anyone.

Probably more to do with Groves worrying about his chin. Last thing he wanted was to get KO'd by DeGale, especially with all the chat. Was exactly what DeGale expected to happen, and caught him completely off guard. DeGale said so himself in the post fight. So there are a few reasons it could be without Groves thinking he couldn't stop DeGale - he clearly has the power, I don't think it's a stretch at all.

I think he is more confident now, both in his abilities to take a punch and his abilities in general.

[mickey1975]

Some good points, but I still think DeGale has a good chin. That pole really tagged him but he soon bounced back.

[winkveron]

He seemed to be looking a lot more spiteful in his last fight, which is a good sign.

On another topic, anyone think his "Carl Frock" comments are intended to wind Froch up, or am I reaching?

[whiskey]

Originally I thought Groves was sound and Degale was the most embarrassing clown I'd seen in years.

The ridiculous ring walk theme 'chewn' and all of that peculiar reaching in the air with his glove - a complete ass hat.

Since his move to C5 he seemed to have dropped the whole 'chunky' persona, calmed down his Kevin the teenager talk, and basically grew up.

But Saturday after beating that bum, he started to get lippy again and was getting hyper and giddy when discussing his performance with Richie. I was embarrassed for him when the C5 muppets showed his WORST punches instead of his best, and Degale was excitedly talking about throwing the shot - and then the replay showed it landing on his knackers.

I think maybe he believes being mouthy again will talk his way into another fight, but the public can see straight through his performances.

Being tactful and slowing doing the bizz is how he should continue in my opinion, as he began winning people over again with that approach.

In closing, I think both James and George are alright - they just struggle a bit with how they should portray their identity.

Groves flirts with being a nice guy or a cocky booth clone (as some put it) and Degale goes from Mr Respectful to Mr Deludisional.

They simply need to relax, let's their fists do the talking and be confident.

Boxing wise they're both good, but still have a lot to prove yet.

They're both good for British boxing.

[Ezzard]

DeGale was comparing himself to Dirrell and Ward last week and saying this is why he can beat Froch.

I can see why he might compare himself to them in terms of his physical attributes but what I see over and over is James getting involved up close, taking more shots than he needs to. He’s a real hard man, lots of guts… I’d just like to see him actually be a little less offensive minded and spend some time working the other guy out.

Groves is now hitting really hard. His punching technique seems much improved to me.

[forcefraser]

Groves will go when tagged by a puncher. He does punch with power and looks fit, so he has a chance with anyone.

i just don`t like the idea of somebody with tattoos as bad as his becoming world champion. He has one of a cat which is utter pants.

[youngrell]

He seemed to be looking a lot more spiteful in his last fight, which is a good sign.

On another topic, anyone think his "Carl Frock" comments are intended to wind Froch up, or am I reaching?

That's an interesting thought and you may be right. But I think he's genuinely just a bit dim.

[ILikeBeer]

Originally I thought Groves was sound and Degale was the most embarrassing clown I'd seen in years.

The ridiculous ring walk theme 'chewn' and all of that peculiar reaching in the air with his glove - a complete ass hat.

Since his move to C5 he seemed to have dropped the whole 'chunky' persona, calmed down his Kevin the teenager talk, and basically grew up.

I'm still not a DeGale fan particularly. Like you say, the early part of his career he was amongst one of the most annoying people I've ever seen on television. I think his repeated Ugly Boy talk to Groves and his 'betting the wages of the fight' gag was just beyond description. I think saying he's the most embarrassing clown you've seen in years severely understates how annoying DeGale was in the lead-up to that fight alone. If there's ever justification for a person being prohibited from fighting purely based on the fact that they are twat, I think that was it. (Though it was quite funny when he danced around thinking he'd won, before realising Groves was undefeated as well.)

I will admit he's slightly mellowed in the twattishness now he's on Five, but that's not saying much. Previously he was a contender for the title biggest twat of all time anyway. He's not done enough to convince me that Slightly Less Annoying DeGale is his true personality. Especially as he still seems somewhat proud for having dumped the EBU title in favour of the mighty WBC Silver Belt.

If DeGale wants to win fans over, I think he needs to prove he really has grown up. I think a lot of people were so put off him in the lead up to the Groves fight (without even mentioning the fact that he was a bit of a chump anyway), that's it going to take time to win back the people he pissed off. I guess getting on Channel 5 is a good way to win over neutral fans, but he has to avoid cringeworthy little exchanges like he had with Richie Woodhall on Saturday night. Richie made a pretty innocuous point that DeGale winning a title might help his negotiations with Froch, who is one of the hottest names in the division right now. Before DeGale started giving it; "Naaah, man. Come on Richieeeee...." bollocks.

[lefty]

Originally I thought Groves was sound and Degale was the most embarrassing clown I'd seen in years.

The ridiculous ring walk theme 'chewn' and all of that peculiar reaching in the air with his glove - a complete ass hat.

Since his move to C5 he seemed to have dropped the whole 'chunky' persona, calmed down his Kevin the teenager talk, and basically grew up.

I'm still not a DeGale fan particularly. Like you say, the early part of his career he was amongst one of the most annoying people I've ever seen on television. I think his repeated Ugly Boy talk to Groves and his 'betting the wages of the fight' gag was just beyond description. I think saying he's the most embarrassing clown you've seen in years severely understates how annoying DeGale was in the lead-up to that fight alone. If there's ever justification for a person being prohibited from fighting purely based on the fact that they are twat, I think that was it. (Though it was quite funny when he danced around thinking he'd won, before realising Groves was undefeated as well.)

I will admit he's slightly mellowed in the twattishness now he's on Five, but that's not saying much. Previously he was a contender for the title biggest twat of all time anyway. He's not done enough to convince me that Slightly Less Annoying DeGale is his true personality. Especially as he still seems somewhat proud for having dumped the EBU title in favour of the mighty WBC Silver Belt.

If DeGale wants to win fans over, I think he needs to prove he really has grown up. I think a lot of people were so put off him in the lead up to the Groves fight (without even mentioning the fact that he was a bit of a chump anyway), that's it going to take time to win back the people he pissed off. I guess getting on Channel 5 is a good way to win over neutral fans, but he has to avoid cringeworthy little exchanges like he had with Richie Woodhall on Saturday night. Richie made a pretty innocuous point that DeGale winning a title might help his negotiations with Froch, who is one of the hottest names in the division right now. Before DeGale started giving it; "Naaah, man. Come on Richieeeee...." bollocks.

That's a good assessment. Would you agree that Groves has become a bit of twat lately aswell though?

[ILikeBeer]

I think he's certainly got a bit more gobby in his last few fights.

I'd have a bit more patience with him personally, because most fighters are a bit gobby to a greater or lesser extent. Even Carl Froch was bigging himself up a bit more than usual before the Kessler fight. If you hated every fighter that had made a bold boast at some point, you'd hate all of them.

Saying that, I do hate all this; "I'm going to kick your arse, I'm going to eat your babys" talk you see in boxing. I'd be more impressed by a fighter who said nothing, then delivered the goods. If you can do something worth watching in the ring, there is no need to boast.

Groves, as yet, is not on the same level of pure all-out annoyance of DeGale. And I can't imagine he'll make such an absolute buffoon out of himself as DeGale, who basically fitted an entire careers worth of bragging into a fight he went on to lose. But it remains to be seen, I guess.

[gobbles]

Groves is getting more confident, and arrogant with it. I honestly think you put them in the ring together now Degale gets stopped.

Over rated, can look silky but isn't silky enough to avoid shots from the main guys.

Groves nicked a razor-thin decision over Degale by running away and refusing to trade. People are reinventing the fight as if it was one-sided.
If the met again, Groves fights exactly the same type of fight. No way would he stand and trade with Degale, it's not Booth's style

[DMA1987]

Groves is getting more confident, and arrogant with it. I honestly think you put them in the ring together now Degale gets stopped.

Over rated, can look silky but isn't silky enough to avoid shots from the main guys.

Groves nicked a razor-thin decision over Degale by running away and refusing to trade. People are reinventing the fight as if it was one-sided.
If the met again, Groves fights exactly the same type of fight. No way would he stand and trade with Degale, it's not Booth's style

Extremely thin. Would never dispute that. And I don't think Groves would slug it out with DeGale, but he would stop him.

[Wrists]

I think he's certainly got a bit more gobby in his last few fights.

I'd have a bit more patience with him personally, because most fighters are a bit gobby to a greater or lesser extent. Even Carl Froch was bigging himself up a bit more than usual before the Kessler fight. If you hated every fighter that had made a bold boast at some point, you'd hate all of them.

Saying that, I do hate all this; "I'm going to kick your arse, I'm going to eat your babys" talk you see in boxing. I'd be more impressed by a fighter who said nothing, then delivered the goods. If you can do something worth watching in the ring, there is no need to boast.

Groves, as yet, is not on the same level of pure all-out annoyance of DeGale. And I can't imagine he'll make such an absolute buffoon out of himself as DeGale, who basically fitted an entire careers worth of bragging into a fight he went on to lose. But it remains to be seen, I guess.

Yes the head down under a towel, no entrance music, no personality/controversy. That'll keep boxing at the forefront................

[Daveyswan]

I like the way James comes across, says what he's thinking (if sometimes sounds a bit odd) but overall seems a genuine good guy... type of guy you'd want in the trenches.

Ye he takes some shots, but is tough and can take a good shot.

What was it I heard him say .. o ye representing!

-:)