At the Armory, Washington D.C., DeGale vs Medina turned into a much better scrap than most of us – certainly this writer – were expecting. James DeGale successfully outshone challenger Rogelio Medina via Unanimous Decision in the surprisingly competitive bout, winning on official scores of 115-113 and 117-111 twice. Here at Boxing Base we saw the action 115-113.
DeGale, with his second title defense in the bag, now bulks his record to 23 wins, 1 defeat, 14 knockouts, while Medina falls to 36 wins, 7 defeats, 30 knockouts.
This was a bout that was won on skills, as DeGale said post fight, with the Gold Olympian’s slickness, superior toolset and awkward angles allowing him to pick off Medina. One senses DeGale could have done more – perhaps a whole lot – in this 12-rounder, but, being the cocky character he is, seemed to be content enough to ease off the gas and allow Medina into the fight in places, particularly in the final three stanzas. DeGale’s 12-round engine has been criticized for some time, so who knows, perhaps that came into play tonight?
While it was DeGale’s pedigree which allowed him to conclusively defend his 168-pound strap, Medina deserves a lot of praise for hanging tough, applying effective pressure, and, landing a lot more clean blows than expected. The Mexican powerhouse, who crushed respected Mayweather Promotions’ J’Leon Love in 2014, seems to have improved greatly over the past year or so, and should prove a handful going forward thanks to his high workrate and gritty determination.
DeGale, assuming all goes ‘as planned’ in tonight’s main event, looks to have a near-future meeting with Badou Jack in line. Lucian Bute, who DeGale bettered last November, will of course be looking to bring the upset. Join us back here at BB for the result. In the meantime, give us your take on DeGale vs Medina in the comments below, plus the rest of the PBC card.
