Does nobody care about Degale v Truax?

[liamlion]

Degale doesn't have a UK promoter which is a significant problem.

I understand BT/allegedly only very recently purchased the British TV rights hence very little time for them to promote the fight.

But then again BT/allegedly just don't have the same level of reach compared with Sky when promoting upcoming events, and so had they have had sufficient time I doubt any advertisement would really have had a massive impact.

Why Degale didn't previously commit to Sky Soorts and Matchroom is beyond me. He would have earnt mad money on Sky PPV over here for the Badou Jack unification fight etc.

[JimJim2009]

Degale doesn't have a UK promoter which is a significant problem.

I understand BT/allegedly only very recently purchased the British TV rights hence very little time for them to promote the fight.

But then again BT/allegedly just don't have the same level of reach compared with Sky when promoting upcoming events, and so had they have had sufficient time I doubt any advertisement would really have had a massive impact.

Why Degale didn't previously commit to Sky Soorts and Matchroom is beyond me. He would have earnt mad money on Sky PPV over here for the Badou Jack unification fight etc.

Good points.

I always regard BN's late picking up of shows (some, not all are late pick ups) as the equivalent of getting food at the supermarket that's on its best before date. They can probably offer a low amount knowing they're the last gig in town for TV coverage.

I'd say the business plan of BN is to supply a steady stream of fights not big up any particular one unless it involves a FW fighter. This works fine for the channel but it does little for somebody like Degale in the UK.

If Selby is out-hussled at Elland road next month, even if the score cards are a bit dubious, it would be seen as a failed venture for Lee and Degale to join with Haymon. It hasn't panned out like they hoped.

As the above poster rightly says, Degale should have gone with Eddie. The Sky/Eddie machine is pretty formidable really.

[magnus]

I'm surprised this isn't on one of the BT Sports channels as well. Degale is one of the bigger names connected with Frank at the moment.

[Grilling Machine]

I won't be surprised if Truax wins again. He'll train hard to, and he knows that he has to to be good enough.

I've always felt that DeGale suffers from the same thing as Haye (save that short period after Thompson): they train as hard as they think they need to, not as hard as they absolutely can. Supposition, obviously, but I never doubted that someone like Benn launched himself into every training hour in his prime. It's when the perception of arrogance makes me question whether that person has a winning attitude, or just winning tools.

Mike Tyson trained his arse off when he was young, as good as he was anyway. He felt he had to because of his size, and he was probably right. DeGale turns me off because he rarely, if ever, seems inspired. Although in Haye's case, I think the Bellew rematch is one of those times when he hasn't left anything to chance, which is why I'm quite excited for it.

If DeGale wins emphatically, I'll follow him again.

[Cyclops]

I like Degale but I have zero interest. I haven't even watched the first one so why would I bother with this?

[mickey1975]

Degale doesn't have a UK promoter which is a significant problem.

I understand BT/allegedly only very recently purchased the British TV rights hence very little time for them to promote the fight.

But then again BT/allegedly just don't have the same level of reach compared with Sky when promoting upcoming events, and so had they have had sufficient time I doubt any advertisement would really have had a massive impact.

Why Degale didn't previously commit to Sky Soorts and Matchroom is beyond me. He would have earnt mad money on Sky PPV over here for the Badou Jack unification fight etc.

DeGale-Jack was on normal Sky. It would never have been a rematch or mad money as Jack moved up.

[mickey1975]

I'm surprised this isn't on one of the BT Sports channels as well. Degale is one of the bigger names connected with Frank at the moment.

He's not connected with Frank.

[milpool]

The last time I heard Caleb Truax's name mentioned was when Chris Eubank was touting for a shot at his IBF title after the Groves defeat...next minute, we're a week away from a rematch with James DeGale.
This one has well and truly slipped under the radar.

[dirk2686]

I'm surprised this isn't on one of the BT Sports channels as well. Degale is one of the bigger names connected with Frank at the moment.

He's not connected with Frank.

He might not be by contract but he's definitely connected. He's boxing on his channel this weekend and his last fight (and first in the UK for years) was on a Warren card.

Either way it seems odd that a UK gold medal winning Olympian fighting for a world title is getting so little promotion from BT/BN.

[whiskey]

I don't mind James Degale - i just think he's not particularly bright.

I dont think he's mean-spirited and that may be the root source of his failures.

He has talent - but he always tries to find a way to throw away victory. He can often mess about, be negative and lacks that deep-down will to win at times (or at least fails to realise he's chucking it away).

[TheCobra]

Yeh it's hard to put your finger on why, but as with many others on here, I'm just totally not arsed now.

I think it's possibly a mixture of how much of a tool he was in the build up to the Groves fight, plus his career generally being a bit of a damp squib. He's not exciting to watch, he has large spells of laziness in the actual fights and large spells of inactivity between fights + no natural fanbase so he's just had no momentum in hi career at all.

I think the only way you can get away with all of the above is by being an exciting fighter to watch and he's just been in too many boring fights.

[Controversial]

Never really a fan of DeGale, could never really see what all the fuss was about him.

[tony1234]

He just doesn't come over as likeable as well as most of his fights stinking the place out

[Stuarty]

DeGale saying he came back too soon after his shoulder injury last time. Apparently now he's 100%! Usual patter after a loss. We'll see come Saturday. I'm taking DeGale to win by a stoppage but not confident at all. Wouldn't be surprised if it's a long painful night for him.

[bigjack]

DeGale saying he came back too soon after his shoulder injury last time. Apparently now he's 100%! Usual patter after a loss. We'll see come Saturday. I'm taking DeGale to win by a stoppage but not confident at all. Wouldn't be surprised if it's a long painful night for him.

I'm going for Truax to win by stoppage this time.

[Stuarty]

DeGale saying he came back too soon after his shoulder injury last time. Apparently now he's 100%! Usual patter after a loss. We'll see come Saturday. I'm taking DeGale to win by a stoppage but not confident at all. Wouldn't be surprised if it's a long painful night for him.

I'm going for Truax to win by stoppage this time.

That also wouldn't surprise me mate. He came close the last time. I'm just gonna go with my gut because I've always had a bit of a soft spot for DeGale for some reason. Think I'm gonna stay up for the card on Sat. Looking forward to it.

[bigjack]

DeGale saying he came back too soon after his shoulder injury last time. Apparently now he's 100%! Usual patter after a loss. We'll see come Saturday. I'm taking DeGale to win by a stoppage but not confident at all. Wouldn't be surprised if it's a long painful night for him.

I'm going for Truax to win by stoppage this time.

That also wouldn't surprise me mate. He came close the last time. I'm just gonna go with my gut because I've always had a bit of a soft spot for DeGale for some reason. Think I'm gonna stay up for the card on Sat. Looking forward to it.

He is hard as nails to be fair but i think Truax will improve with the confidence gained from the win in December and go one step further this time,i'd like DeGale to win and then fight Groves again so we'll see.

[mickey1975]

I'm surprised this isn't on one of the BT Sports channels as well. Degale is one of the bigger names connected with Frank at the moment.

He's not connected with Frank.

He might not be by contract but he's definitely connected. He's boxing on his channel this weekend and his last fight (and first in the UK for years) was on a Warren card.

Either way it seems odd that a UK gold medal winning Olympian fighting for a world title is getting so little promotion from BT/BN.

Lomachenko and Crawford aren't connected with Frank. Haymon is the man and Eddie has been in recent years.

[Bodyshot3]

I want to see Groves and DeGale go again.........it is a fight that still appeals years down the line and with both of them reaching veteran status. There two were made to start-off together and end-it together for my money.

But for that to happen DeGale needs to beat Traux which I hope he does simply to remain relevant and in the mix.

[moogie101]

Until I saw this & another post I didn't even know the fight was this weekend, has been totally lost in the shuffle.

Degale's terrible performance has really hurt his standing & he needs to be fully motivated & not take rounds off if he hopes to regain the belt. But he's had similarly lazy performances before & just doesn't seem to learn from them.

[liamlion]

Degale doesn't have a UK promoter which is a significant problem.

I understand BT/allegedly only very recently purchased the British TV rights hence very little time for them to promote the fight.

But then again BT/allegedly just don't have the same level of reach compared with Sky when promoting upcoming events, and so had they have had sufficient time I doubt any advertisement would really have had a massive impact.

Why Degale didn't previously commit to Sky Soorts and Matchroom is beyond me. He would have earnt mad money on Sky PPV over here for the Badou Jack unification fight etc.

DeGale-Jack was on normal Sky. It would never have been a rematch or mad money as Jack moved up.

I wasnt suggesting anything about a rematch. You've missed my point, namely Degale's lack of UK presence and promotion in the past few years reflected in the relatively low pay and low exposure of the Badou Jack fight. I'm fully aware that it was only on normal Sky, which is sort of what I was getting at.

Had Degale had committed to Eddie a couple of years ago he would have been given far more exposure and greater promotion and would have been part of some huge shows in the U.K. The Jack fight would likely have been in the U.K, on a huge PPV show, generating greater interest with Degale having home advantage and earning far more than the 750k USD that he earnt fighting in a largely passive and disinterested Vegas against Jack.

Fighter's profiles need to be built and maintained.

[TheLeprechaun]

Degale doesn't have a UK promoter which is a significant problem.

I understand BT/allegedly only very recently purchased the British TV rights hence very little time for them to promote the fight.

But then again BT/allegedly just don't have the same level of reach compared with Sky when promoting upcoming events, and so had they have had sufficient time I doubt any advertisement would really have had a massive impact.

Why Degale didn't previously commit to Sky Soorts and Matchroom is beyond me. He would have earnt mad money on Sky PPV over here for the Badou Jack unification fight etc.

DeGale-Jack was on normal Sky. It would never have been a rematch or mad money as Jack moved up.

I wasnt suggesting anything about a rematch. You've missed my point, namely Degale's lack of UK presence and promotion in the past few years reflected in the relatively low pay and low exposure of the Badou Jack fight. I'm fully aware that it was only on normal Sky, which is sort of what I was getting at.

Had Degale had committed to Eddie a couple of years ago he would have been given far more exposure and greater promotion and would have been part of some huge shows in the U.K. The Jack fight would likely have been in the U.K, on a huge PPV show, generating greater interest with Degale having home advantage and earning far more than the 750k USD that he earnt fighting in a largely passive and disinterested Vegas against Jack.

Fighter's profiles need to be built and maintained.

I don't think Hearn is really that well liked by boxers generally. They know he has a monopoly on Sky. It's a bit like Adam Smith. I'm sure he's generally disliked by practically all of british boxing but he has his position and boxers have to be nice to him. Hearn could have been a bit more neutral and humble in regards to a few fighters. Groves, Frampton etc. They all seem to have a personal problem with the way Hearn carries himself. Ultimately boxers are stubborn people and once they get to a certain level, they would rather lose money than work with Hearn and I think Hearns arrogant smarmy attitude is a factor there.

[northern]

It'll be a good re-match, i'm expecting Degale to win but I expected him to win the first match so anything can happen for me.

If Degale comes back in form and ready to perform at the world stage like he did against Badou Jack, then he should win well. At the same time Truax could have completely changed his training now he's won a world title, so we could see a different boxer next time.
For the maybe factor it becomes an interesting fight, but it really won't get anywhere near the attention other fights are going to be getting (Frampton vs Donaire / Khan vs Lo Greco / Haye vs Bellew / Selby vs Warrington / Saunders vs Murray / Tyson Fury comeback fight / Chris Eubanks Jr. Comeback fight)

[banjo]

The thing with Degale was when he turned pro he tried to put on this bad boy persona in contrast to the humble kid routine Amir Khan started out with a few years earlier and it backfired massively after his debut was an absolute stinker and he looked like he was about to burst into tears into the post fight interview, after Groves he went under the radar for a bit fighting in shopping centres etc. but then started hobnobbing with the TOWIE crowd, I don't think the lad has ever been focused and he has rarely ever impressed me, every now and then he'll have a good start to a fight but still end up hanging on for grim death at the end.

[Stuarty]

Just noticed the show doesn't start til 3am on BN this weekend! Was gonna stay up but that a long hard wait man, especially since there's no boxing on the Sat night over here! There's enough fight son the card to merit an earlier start surely?