With WBC champion Badou Jack (20-1) set to face off against IBF champion James Degale (23-1) this Saturday night, the boxing public cannot wait to see the first big fight of 2017. This will be the first Super Middleweight unification since the days of Andre Ward (31-0) ruling over it. The winner will be seen as the No.1 Super middle weight in the world by many.
The case can be made for both winning this fight. Badou jack is an excellent body puncher with good power in both hands and has faced slightly better opposition. James DeGale is an excellent boxer than can switch up from orthodox to southpaw at any given time with the help of a long reach. The winner will be rated as the best super middleweight in the eyes of many. The super middleweight division has seen its better days; it’s a weak division with not much star power/depth. The other champions in the division include WBO Gilberto Ramirez and WBA Giovanni De Carolis both unheralded but talented nonetheless.
The fight will be aired on regular Showtime network, not PPV, which is a relief because a card headlining Jack vs. DeGale would not be a big seller at this time. This will be the first of many stacked cards Showtime has promised this year calendar year. Other cards will feature fighter such as Mikey Garcia, Carl Frampton, Keith Thurman, Danny Garcia, Adrien Broner etc.
Both fighters have had their share of time studying their counterpart and are expecting to win via KO. Badou Jack feels he can win by putting pressure on DeGale and working inside the pocket “I’m going in there to break him down… If I get an opportunity to land something that can change the fight, I’m going to take my chance.” DeGale on the other hand feels he is too talented for jack “Jack is a very very good fighter, but he doesn’t do anything spectacular… I have the x factor.” Come January 14th we will see who the real deal is, who the contender is and who the pretender is.
The undercard will feature IBF super featherweight champion Jose Pedraza (22-0) vs. the talented contender Gervonta Davis (16-0). There seems to be genuine bad blood between the two men with Pedraza saying Davis has fought nobodies. Gervonta Davis is talking about wanting to follow in the footsteps of his promoter Floyd Mayweather. First step in succeeding Mayweather is picking up the IBF strap.
James DeGale Vs. Badou Jack will be distributed live by Showtime Sports/Sky Sports at 9:30pm ET from the Barclays Center in New York City,NY on January 14, 2017.
