Sunday 14 October 2012

DeGale shines through in tough test!

There was an air of anticipation when I arrived at the Glow Arena to witness the first boxing show to ever take place at the venue. The seats were filled with DeGale fans wearing the famous "Chunky" t-shirts and just waiting for the moment when their man climbs between those ropes. 

After an action-packed undercard, it was time for the main event... James DeGale Vs Hadillah Mouhoumadi for the European super-middleweight title. Mohoumadi was first to make his way to the ring and unfortunately he was greeted with boos and jeers. Now, he may be the away guy and the man between the home fighter and victory but you should have respect for every fighter that climbs between those ropes. Thankfully there were a few fans that still stood up and clapped for him. 
When DeGale made his ringwalk, you couldn't even hear yourself think. The crowd was going crazy and made as much noise as physically possible.

With all the ringwalks, announcements and instructions out of the way, the first bell rang and DeGale came out very fast. The Brit had two very good starting rounds and completely outclassed his French opponent. But as the fight progressed Mouhoumadi managed to push DeGale back and whilst none of his punches were hurting his opponent he was wearing him down. DeGale still managed to nick most of the rounds on the way to his unanimous decision victory but you have to give credit to Mouhoumadi, who took so many clean shots but just didn't stop coming. 
The judges scorecards were 119-109, 117-111 and 116-112 all in favour of DeGale meaning he had successfully retained his European belt.

The question now is.. What next for James "Chunky" DeGale? Yes, he put on a very good performance but only against a tough but technically flawed opponent. I'm taking nothing away from DeGale's victory, but when does he take that step up? 

The good thing is that he is still young and really no more than an experienced novice. He has a lot of time and I'm sure we will see him step in class very soon. DeGale made a very good name for himself tonight and gave his fans exactly what they were waiting for.
@F4Ccharity - fight4change.org.uk/
A big thanks to Fight 4 Change and Mark Sharman for giving me the opportunity to be ringside for this event!



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