BoxRec

James DeGale will face domestic opposition when he challenges for his first title on May 15 at Upton Park.

DeGale tackles Sam Horton for the WBA International super-middleweight title.

The Midlander has a 14-1 (2) record and is a former Central Area champion.

I thought they would get an international opponent for this fight. Getting a sub-English title level opponent for DeGale to fight does make the title seem silly. A decent opponent for DeGale at this stage though.

http://www.allegedly.tv/index.php?opt ... &Itemid=66

http://boxrec.com/list_bouts.php?human_ ... &cat=boxer

Nice little title for him to pick up.

At least it ensures future opponents will have to have some ability...

... it's a step in the right direction

This inter titles are a load of shite please no more!

JDC wrote:Nice little title for him to pick up.

At least it ensures future opponents will have to have some ability...

... it's a step in the right direction

Well, you think so?

LOL.

It's meaningless.

But to be fair, Horton is a decent opponent. He's been sparked, thats true, but it will be a decent enough match up.

Horton's record flatters him IMO.

The punching bus driver will be well out of his depth here.

Yeh Sam did well to get thru against Jamie ambler i think he might get ruined by degale hes very game so will steam in but be outclassed i think

Ok, the guy is fighting a 12 rounder for a title.

They guy he is fighting was knocked out in 2 rounds by Cello Renda not too long ago. Renda has just lost two on the spin to Paul Samuels, one by KO. Samuels was taken out in 1 round by George Groves.

What does this prove?? Nothing DD

However, to make out that this is a MAJOR test is plain nonsense. I expect DeGale will end this fairly comfortably in the first few rounds.

forcefraser wrote:Ok, the guy is fighting a 12 rounder for a title.

They guy he is fighting was knocked out in 2 rounds by Cello Renda not too long ago. Renda has just lost two on the spin to Paul Samuels, one by KO. Samuels was taken out in 1 round by George Groves.

What does this prove?? Nothing DD

However, to make out that this is a MAJOR test is plain nonsense. I expect DeGale will end this fairly comfortably in the first few rounds.

Who is it?

oliverfennell wrote:Who is it?

Sam Horton.

http://boxrec.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=118787

Not so bad an opponent. The fact it's for a title is detracting from that.

Heard abit about this Sam horton ment to ave some skills thought he was just a middle thow

DeGale is a 6 fight pro and Horton is a step up from his last fight. Who would you be expecting him to fight at this early stage in his career?

I agree, he is certainly not a bad opponent, but still I don`t think it is the major test that some are making it out to be.

i agree with the cynics.

it's nothing write home about is it.

it's early days.

can't be too critical yet.

although some would say an olympic gold medallist should be getting pitched in a bit better than this already.

Deno1986 wrote:DeGale is a 6 fight pro and Horton is a step up from his last fight. Who would you be expecting him to fight at this early stage in his career?

yeah agreed with this as well.

if he'd had 16 fights and he was fighting this guy u could really slate it.

hopefully by his 16th fight he's giving george groves that beating.

it's just a matter of time.

TerribleTerry wrote:Horton's record flatters him IMO.

The punching bus driver will be well out of his depth here.

Yes, it's a typical "prospect" record- standard journeyment opponents etc.

Matt Hainy was a decent win, though.

His lack of a knockout punch might be telling (basing that on him having just two stoppages.)

He's no better than Mathew Barr who was, quite frankly, embarassed by Degale. Different league? not even the same sport.

Degale KO whenever he decides.

To be fair, he was very well regarded until the Renda KO, and even then you could say that he brought about his own downfall by trying to slug it out against a known puncher despite not being a puncher himself. It's easy to look at the Renda KO and assume something similar will happen against DeGale, especially as DeGale is of higher pedigree, but it's not always that simple. Horton has shown he can go 10 rounds, and hopefully he won't be as reckless as he was in the Renda fight.

jonp wrote:Yeh Sam did well to get thru against Jamie ambler i think he might get ruined by degale hes very game so will steam in but be outclassed i think

i think myself, Terry and Jon know Horton well enough to be a bit concerned for him, here.

Spot on.

oliverfennell wrote:To be fair, he was very well regarded until the Renda KO,

he's a nice enough fella but even in the midlands wasn't that well regarded oliver

put it this way, if a fight had come off between Horton and Max Maxwell who's basically a lightmiddle with a record of something like 10-8 (with a couple of dodgy away decisions in there) I would have had Max at even money with Horton.

Horton has gone 10 round twice but Cello Renda made absolute mincemeat of him, he fought the wrong fight that night and got caught with too many big punches.

he wont be able to compete with Chunky's skills nor power and even though it's a scheduled 12 rounder, cant see it going more than five.

Good fight for DeGale, Horton is a good boxer when he gets going, he fought totally the wrong fight against Renda, who I think he could of outboxed. Im going with DeGale but Horton will cause him a lot of problems before DeGale stops him in the later rounds

alexpaterson wrote:Good fight for DeGale, Horton is a good boxer when he gets going, he fought totally the wrong fight against Renda, who I think he could of outboxed. Im going with DeGale but Horton will cause him a lot of problems before DeGale stops him in the later rounds

I hope you are right, as I really want to see DeGale tested. I fear this won`t happen though and think it will be all over inside three rounds, via a somewhat dodgy ref stoppage.

Hope the entrance lives up to last time.

forcefraser wrote:and think it will be all over inside three rounds, via a somewhat dodgy ref stoppage.

Now, here is a point- with it being an international contest, will there be an international referee?

Paul Smith picked up one of these international belts , winning in the second round, and it was an international ref. He kept the fight going too long.