Badou Jack-James DeGale a classic bout without a victor

DeGale deserves a huge amount of credit for showing great heart and desire to keep going in the later rounds and after the knockdown, and but for that disappointing moment, he would now be the unified super-middleweight champion.

Badou Jack and James DeGale fought to a spirited majority draw in their super middleweight unification showdown Saturday night in Brooklyn. DeGale sees advantages over Jack with speed and movement, and he said his quickness will confuse Jack.

DeGale was working REAL hard after the fight was over trying to talk Badou and his promoter Floyd Mayweather Jr.to give him a chance for a rematch. Nobody knows more about boxing than me.

He has been itching to fight in the United Kingdom, where his domestic profile has slipped even as his stature in the sport has redoubled, and spoke all week about an outdoor homecoming fight in the spring at the Emirates Stadium, home of his beloved Arsenal. They took the long road, and the timing and circumstances aren’t what we all hoped, but this is a big event. I still like you and appreciate you (DeGale) I want to work with both of you guys. Look at his face. “He busted my ear drum and I lost my teeth”, he said. “You’ve gotta knock him out”. DeGale won a points decision while Jack still can not believe that their clash was ruled a draw.

With the fight in the balance, DeGale was busy early as Jack tried to land the more damaging blows. Jack connected on more power punches (202-of-522 to 168-of-468) and more jabs (29-of-223 to 4-of-149).

The pivotal moment in the fight occurred when Jack floored DeGale for the first time in his career with a left-right combo punch midway through the 12th and final round. Jack started coming on in the 6th after hurting DeGale. Jack even scored a punishing knockdown in Round 12, busted DeGale’s eardrum, knocked out the Brit’s tooth and badly damaged his right eye. “I finished stronger”, Jack said. It’s no clean punches or anything.

“I promise the fans it’s going to be an exciting fight”. The third judge, Steve Rados, thought Jack was as a decisive victor over Bute (117-111). The fight ended in the center of the right with both fighters swinging for the fences.

The 12-round bout was ruled a draw by the judges, with Jack and DeGale retaining their champion’s belts.