• Steve Bunce

DeGale should have gone for broke

Steve Bunce May 24, 2011
George Groves produced a tactical masterclass in beating James DeGale © Getty Images
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There's no other place to start than the fight between George Groves and James DeGale. It really was a great fight. The first five or six rounds were the most tense I think I have ever seen, that includes some of the great British and American fights. In the 26 years I have been at ringside earning a living, I don't think I have ever seen a fight start with so much tension. It seemed to stay for five or six rounds, it was quite amazing.

We did not get the slugfest that some, not us at ESPN I have to say, people were predicting. We got a chess match. Even to the end it was a chess match, yes there was speed towards the end and some blood, but it was still a chess match.

What was telling, and let's not mince our words, was that Groves went in with a plan to keep it long and James never adapted. He did not move his feet enough to cut George off, he still over-committed to two and three punches when the first one missed and that was why the promoter Frank Warren was up out of his seat. He was up for the first time after three rounds. In all my time at ringside with Frank Warren, I can't remember him ever getting up after three rounds. He was not up because there was a crisis, he was up because he wanted James to get closer and throw a few more punches.

The annoying thing is James has been training in an altitude box at Tottenham and he has been setting all sorts of records. Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp has been stunned by his performances. But in the ring he fought like a man who was conserving energy and when it was finished he was hardly even blowing. He still had plenty left in the tank and that is what is very annoying.

The last four rounds, actually from the point in the ninth round when Groves got caught and wobbled and cut, were four dramatic, staggering rounds because Groves looked out on his feet. He might try and say he was in control, but he wasn't. He was out on his feet and there to be beaten but his heart, his enormous heart, got him through. I thought he was going to get stopped in the 10th after that great ninth round James had, but he got his head back together and stuck with the game-plan. And James just could not quite finish it off. I think he should have gone for broke in the 10th round. He should have started it like a Nigel Benn or Chris Eubank or Michael Watson would have started a round when they had a fighter in trouble. They would have started the round at 100mph and increased the pace. James didn't, he started it like he did the first, second, third and fourth and that may have been the moment he lost the fight.

I have been listening to some people who probably did not see the fight and have read or heard stuff and said things like 'it was a stitch up wasn't it?'. Even if you listen to Frank Warren he only made DeGale a winner by one or two rounds. Adam Booth, who trains George Groves, made George a winner by one or two rounds. So even if you look at the extreme it is only a four-round difference. So it was nothing like a robbery or a disgrace. I had it six-six but if I had to make a call like they do on those reality TV shows, I would probably have gone for DeGale, but only probably. Not because he was hard done by, but because he was the more aggressive. If I had to cast a vote it would have been DeGale but when I watched it back I slightly changed my opinion. I still scored it 6-6 but when I was away from ringside I slightly favoured Groves because of his tactical brilliance. That is how close it was. It was a controversial fight because it is a talking point, not because someone got robbed. It is not dissimilar to the Lennox-Lewis-Evander Holyfield first fight from 1999. For me, Lennox won. I thought he won by one or two, but it was a draw and people went ballistic calling for all kind of enquiries. That was utter rubbish, it was a tight fight and nothing in it. By the way the fight between Groves and DeGale was a million times better than the snore fest that was Lewis and Holyfield.

DeGale did not take the chance when he had it © PA Photos
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Looking to the future, if they both go off on the right path and win titles and remain unbeaten then it is a massive fight in 18 months. If they lose it remains a decent fight, but if one of them gets exposed then it starts to diminish. They can lose but can't lose heavily. The ideal scenario is for each to have a couple of fights, and then it is a massive fight. Loftus Road will be sold out and then the third fight in 2013 is at Wembley, buy your ticket now it is a sellout. That is called fantasy fights by the way.

Carl Froch has been mentioned as a possible future opponent for George Groves. As soon as you are involved in a good fight and there is someone else out there you throw your hat into the ring. Froch has got Glen Johnson and Andre Ward in the Super Six and that takes us through to November. He then fights back in Nottingham in January or February and George Groves could be the opponent. For me I don't think it will happen, as there are so many guys out there for Carl Froch to fight. If George were to become a genuine world-class fighter and get his hands on a version of the super-middleweight belt, which could happen, then Froch has a ready-made opponent and a big attraction.

Cleverly made a statement

Also on the card was Nathan Cleverly and he did exactly what I thought he would do, and I am not after-timing here. Once I knew Aleksy Kuziemski was his opponent, I knew how it would pan out. Nathan was not going to use any brain, he was not going to use his jab, he was not going to think his way to victory. I knew he was going to go out there like a slugger and smash the guy to bits. The ref could have let it go a round longer but if he had the guy would have had even more than a broken nose. Nathan did what you are meant to do when you are faced with a reluctant but well-skilled fighter. You go out, it's not very tactical, and smash him to bits. Nathan was so angry about the two replacements, the falling out in the press conference; he just got in the ring and smashed the guy to bits. That was pure adrenaline driving him on and now he can call himself a world champion. He did not like the idea he was given the belt outside of the ring so he went in against a decent opponent and blew him away. He made a statement.

Bernard Hopkins is all of a sudden an attractive proposition © PA Photos
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What next for Cleverly? Well it is a possibility that Juergen Braehmer comes back into the fold as a challenger. Braehmer is a good fighter and brings a story with him. He is a prison fighter. He started fighting in prison, came out and carried on. He went back into prison, but carried on training and boxing and came out again. He is a good fighter and is a good story.

All aboard

But what everyone wants to do is get on the Bernard Hopkins gravy-train. That is what everyone above about 9st wants to do. What Bernard did in winning the world title at 46 is A: secure his place as a living, breathing, walking legend. And B: make himself hugely attractive. The offers are going to come flooding in now, which is strange because for most of his 18 or 19 years in the game and his 29 world title fights, most of the time he was avoided. Now everyone wants to fight him. If I was Nathan Cleverly, I would throw my hat in the Bernard Hopkins business.

Hopkins has got better the older he has got, he takes slightly more risks, he is clever at what he does and is probably hitting harder now than ever. It was a good performance as Jean Pascal is a good fighter. He is a slick fighter, he can bang and take a shot, but he got old-manned out of it by Bernard. It was a hard fight. Some people thought it was a gimme and a walkover job but I did not see it that way. I did not even see Bernard as the favourite. Their last fight was tight and ended in a draw. I thought this time Pascal would adjust and get the job done. So it was a staggering performance by Hopkins. 1993 was his first world title fight against the great Roy Jones and he has had 29 PROPER world title fights. Not bogus ones, proper ones.

Twelfth Rond

Speaking of Roy Jones, hopefully we have seen the last of him after he was beaten in disturbing fashion in Russia on Saturday night by the crude but powerful Denis Lebedev. Let's hope that Roy finally now, and it is probably six fights too late, calls it a day.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
Steve Bunce Close
Steve Bunce has been ringside in Las Vegas over 50 times, he has been at five Olympics and has been writing about boxing for over 25 years for a variety of national newspapers in Britain, including four which folded! It is possible that his face and voice have appeared on over 60 channels worldwide in a variety of languages - his first novel The Fixer was published in 2010 to no acclaim; amazingly it has been shortlisted for Sports Book of the Year.