James Degale/Badou Jack & Undercard Analysis

By Geoff
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Updated: January 14, 2017

Boxing in 2017 starts off on a great note with a stacked card with Super Middleweight unification in a division that once was loaded with talent such as Andre Ward, Carl Froch and other luminaries that participated in the Super Six tournament. We also have a Super Featherweight fight with undefeated talented fighters in their prime. This year is packed with important title fights and hopefully that leads to increasing interest in this sport so the good matchups are forced to continue.

James “Chunky” DeGale 23-1(14 KO) vs Badou “The Ripper” Jack 20-1(12 KO)

An important Super Middleweight unification like this probably should have more press, but to some, the perception is that since Andre Ward moved up to LHW and the other fighters in the division have either retired or faded away, it’s a much weaker division now. That may be true but James Degale and Badou Jack are both quality fighters with only one loss respectively on each of their records. One can say that this fight should have happened sooner and they’d be correct. The last fight for both of these boxers were kind of steps backwards with Jack drawing(absolute bs, he clearly won) against Lucian Bute and Degale’s win over Rogelio “Porky” Medina in an uneven performance. Let’s break down both of them.

James DeGale is a very interesting and versatile fighter. He can switch from southpaw to orthodox in a minute’s notice and look good doing so. Sometimes he can be on his back foot boxing, elusive, and others he might be an aggressive come forward fighter. The only loss of his career came to George Groves in a fight where he turned it on in the second half and did more than enough to win the fight. The biggest win of his career came against Andre Dirrell where he knocked him down twice and won a good amount of the early fights but faded in the second half. That same fading and inactivity is something people have gotten used to watching him fight.

Badou Jack’s knockout loss to Derek Edwards might have caused a good amount of people to quit on him but he never did so himself. Also, being part of Floyd Mayweather’s stable might have made it easy for him to be written off. But Jack came back strong eventually winning the title over Anthony Dirrell and defending against George Groves and Lucian Bute. Jack is a smart boxer, seemingly even smarter since the Edwards loss. That somewhat borders on the appearance of an average fighter but is it so wrong working behind the jab and keeping a tight defense?!?! Results after all.

For DeGale to win he needs to active throughout the entire fight and overwhelm Jack with his punch variety. He’s the faster fighter and stronger one and without a doubt more talented. I think he can be successful both coming forward and on the backfoot. I’m not sold on Jack as a come forward fighter so I believe there will be a lot of opportunities if he can draw him in.

For Jack to win he needs to work his jab and defensively responsible. I think Jack has shown over the past few fights that he can maintain a high level all the way throughout. That is an area of question for DeGale who has gassed before and repeatedly fought lazily over the later rounds in fights. Consistent Badou Jack is the name of the game.

Out of all of their respective wins I rank the Andre Dirrell at the top so the edge goes to DeGale. You never know what DeGale will do in that ring though in regards to stamina and output. They’re also evenly matched in height and reach. But I still have to go with DeGale by MD.

Jose “Sniper” Pedraza 22-0(12 KO) vs Gervonta “Tank” Davis 16-0(15 KO)

The fight for the IBF Super Featherweight title is another good one with a division now inhabited by immense talent like Vasyl Lomachenko and rough and established fighters like Francisco Vargas and Orlando Salido. A win here for either man means that their name vaults up in the division and for boxing fans, that means more great fights.

Being from Puerto Rico, and island with great boxing tradition, Pedraza has automatically garnered a lot of support from those fans and comparisons to other Puerto Rican greats. I believe he’s a good fighter and he does have some boxing skills. He possesses some good hand speed and puts together combinations. He’s shown different skills with his counter punching as well as being able to get inside and work the body. Pedraza’s footwork is pretty good as well darting in and out. He could stand to use the jab a bit more and move his head a bit more. I thought his fight against Edner Cherry was his toughest test and he definitely appeared vulnerable. The other fights are not much of a challenge to talk about.

Davis is the protege of Floyd Mayweather Jr. and that has brought many comparisons due to similarities in speed, the flash and power(younger Floyd). That has also brought a lot of tv dates and the exposure that every young fighter wishes they could get. In those fights he has impressed with his array of skills from his Southpaw style. Against overmatched opponents he’s shown blazing speed, counter punching, and the POWER. That power though, sometimes causes him to rely on it a bit too much. He like Pedraza should probably use his jab more because it would be a good weapon for him. At one point he was scheduled to fight Jason Sosa for the WBA title but apparently that caused somewhat of an issue with Floyd. Regardless, here we are, for the IBF title.

For Pedraza to win he needs to draw Gervonta in and counter him when he’s trying to unload his power punches. Pedraza has shown different dimensions and the counter punching is something he’s pretty good at. Davis has shown times where he’s willing to throw a lot of punches but unable to sustain a really high pace. Pedraza’s footwork is pretty good so if he uses the ring and angles he will force Davis to think a lot more than he has had to against most of the stationary fighters he’s faced. Davis has made mistakes and been caught trying to unload power punches so he can be hit. He also is the taller fighter (5’9” to 5’6”) and has a marginal reach advantage.

For Davis to win he needs to be avoid the mistakes he’s made against lesser fighters and keep a varied attack. He’s the more powerful fighter but abandoning the rest of his game for that is detrimental against better fighters. His jab can be a really powerful weapon and it’s pretty strong when he chooses to throw it. That jab will be able to set up the rest of his arsenal and allow him to put the pressure on. Can Pedraza handle that pressure? I’m not sold on Pedraza’s defense so there will be plenty of opportunities for Davis to land cleanly. Especially with a tremendous uppercut that he’s shown in previous fights. He needs to go to the body and slow Pedraza down and come back up top.

This is a difficult fight because Gervonta Davis is so young and hasn’t truly faced anyone while Pedraza is talented, he doesn’t really strike me as special. I think it’s a toss up and will truly be an exciting fight but I’m going with Davis by KO. I think he’ll be more than prepared for this because Floyd is in his corner and he’ll eventually wear down Pedraza with his power. It remains to be seen how he does with a fighter than can truly test him, though.