James Degale.

Finally got his wish and has left Warren. Signed with Mick Hennessy and will be back in the ring October 31st. Surprised Matchroom haven't snapped him up, obviously took note of his dummy spit with Warren.

Dear God! He signed with Hennessy. That's like swapping Polio for Tuberculosis

Oh dear....

Eubank Jr will be fed to him soon.

He should have gone with Hearn. Bad move James.

Don't like hennessy or his shows/opponent choices but as far as building a fanbase, something degale has struggled for due to faults of his own, channel 5 is a good move and will get him good exposure, moreso than boxnation

Good luck to him, I like his style and had him beating groves by a round but leaving warren on such terms completely removes the possibility of a groves rematch now or ever as warren is one to hold a grudge

Hearn would not go near him with a barge pole...

They are an intelligent family and know he would bring nothing but trouble for them.

I have never rated DeGale as highly as some people seem to. For me he is another by product of the now defunct adage that a Gold Medal means success in the amateur ranks.

He lacks the intelligence to look beyond his faults and solve them, believing he genuinely is world class right now.

If he had any sense at all he would get himself off the radar (though I think he kind of is now given the previous 18 months)...get a new trainer...Iron out some major flaws and rebuild again.

Instead I think he will soon be attempting to get his face everywhere...he has the European title so I imagine he can't be matched to easily which means him being fastracked quicker than I think the guy is ready for.

Hennessy must offer huge money upfront because anyone cn see he is a terribble promoter. Only have to look at his website to see that

One does have to wonder if the twitter spat with Eubank Jnr was not a cynical attempt to create a rivalry where there is no natural one with an eye on them both being in the same stable. However am not convinced Mick is quite that cunning

I think hennesy takes a smaller cut - which is probably why channel 5 can afford him and his stable and why he manages to pick up decent talents while being almost useless himself

rowley wrote:One does have to wonder if the twitter spat with Eubank Jnr was not a cynical attempt to create a rivalry where there is no natural one with an eye on them both being in the same stable. However am not convinced Mick is quite that cunning

agreed. i'd definitely watch it.
channel 5's coverage isnt bad at all. no gimmicks, no frills, just the fights.

Rowley - Too much time on your hands coming up with things like that. That would fall under conspiracy theory given Mick's massive lack of intellect...the man is simply not capable of thinking like that...

However forward on your idea and maybe he will give you a slice of the profits if he ever makes 'Battle of Britain'....fight card featuring a bout between those two...Fury vs Price....Quigg/Frampton vs Kid Galahad!

OasisBFC wrote:

rowley wrote:One does have to wonder if the twitter spat with Eubank Jnr was not a cynical attempt to create a rivalry where there is no natural one with an eye on them both being in the same stable. However am not convinced Mick is quite that cunning

agreed. i'd definitely watch it.
channel 5's coverage isnt bad at all. no gimmicks, no frills, just the fights.

And with Al Bernstein, the best boxing commentator about these days, the only one I can barely listen too. Sorry to go off topic, but as I mentioned commentry, does anyone know whatever happened to Ian Darke, did he take his pension, or reduced hours ? The only worthwhile British one since old Reg IMO.

Cheers

Rodders

Seanusarrilius wrote:Dear God! He signed with Hennessy. That's like swapping Polio for Tuberculosis

hahaaha!

I see it as a decent move for him. He'll get more exposure on C5 than on BN. As he is a euro champ, it can propel him to better things. I can see Groves leaving Frank also. A rematch between the 2 will be a huge sell.

Could be an alright stop gap move. Get a few fights and mainstream exposure with Hennessy and leave him sharpish when you want to start progressing to world level. Hennessy looks like he sleeps in his car wearing his only suit.

I dont think Degale was wrong or spitting his dummy out like people said, when leaving Warren..

Warren has too many fighters and just focus's on the fighter of the day.. Degale was unlucky to lose to Groves and I though Warren steaming in to get Groves as well was not really very ethical and did not show a very good loyalty... its not as if Degale had one shot too many and was out boxed... it was his 11th pro fight against the other top talent and the fight was very close..

Also Degale was not fighting enough, he should be fighting 4 -5 times a year.

We don't really know what was said in his meetings to really judge, Hennessy does not have a huge stable which means he can put more into the fighters he does have.

Now to see who ends up managing Degale.

DeGale was never gonna build a fanbase fighting twice a year against taxi drivers on a fringe subscription channel (like Cleverly is doing). At least with Hennessey he'll get a wider audience. I think he's a really skilled fighter that needs some rough edges working off. He could still do a lot with his career, he's been stalling for too long - he needs to get moving and this is a step in the right direction.

I think its a pretty decent move for De Gale.. ok Hennessy is a tube but its not as if DeGale takes much imagination to promote.... On Ch 5, his apparent ego will no doubt have been massaged by the face he will no doubt be headlining shows... Wouldnt surprise me if Hennessy has told him he will be his main man with question marks over Fury etc.

Really wouldn't surprise me to see JDG in with the likes of Patrick Mendy in October to try and look good before the winner of Anderson and Reid. With the view to a shot at Balsazy's WBA paper belt.

*delete*

Keeps telling me forum was too busy to send , then when i repost it posts twice..

Sugar Boy Sweetie wrote:DeGale was never gonna build a fanbase fighting twice a year against taxi drivers on a fringe subscription channel (like Cleverly is doing). At least with Hennessey he'll get a wider audience. I think he's a really skilled fighter that needs some rough edges working off. He could still do a lot with his career, he's been stalling for too long - he needs to get moving and this is a step in the right direction.

Wow, fighting taxi drivers? The guy was fighting euro level after about 9 fights and is euro champ at 13 fights.. The guy should be fighting taxi drivers but is not.

Thing is with gold medal winners, while you have loads of opertunities paved for you, there is also huge pressure.

I agree he needs to be fighting more and needs to work harder at building a fan base... PR has been pretty poor

alanqlm wrote:Hennessy is a tube

Excellent!

I have a new word to call people now.

tunes666 wrote:

Sugar Boy Sweetie wrote:DeGale was never gonna build a fanbase fighting twice a year against taxi drivers on a fringe subscription channel (like Cleverly is doing). At least with Hennessey he'll get a wider audience. I think he's a really skilled fighter that needs some rough edges working off. He could still do a lot with his career, he's been stalling for too long - he needs to get moving and this is a step in the right direction.

Wow, fighting taxi drivers? The guy was fighting euro level after about 9 fights and is euro champ at 13 fights.. The guy should be fighting taxi drivers but is not.

Think SBS' point was that's what he would be doing if he stayed with Warren, thus citing Clev as an example.

I'm in agreement with the majority I think, not a bad move for a guy with such low popularity and fan-base after such a stagnant period. Get him 4-5 fights, lots of viewers, build some fan traction then move on if necessary.

He can only build up a fan base if he wins impressively. he can spout whatever he likes so long as he backs it up. People like winners who look good (Brits are used to losers and like them, -Bruno-so I may be wrong)

Degale needs to really turn it on in the ring,because outside he is a PR disaster

Seanusarrilius wrote:Degale needs to really turn it on in the ring,because outside he is a PR disaster

I agree and what makes it worse is I think he is a pretty nice guy.

Glad ya liked it JabMachine... its a pretty common insult in Northern Ireland. Feel free to use in appropriately.