TV Lineup
Saturday Feb 23 Showtime
James Degale vs Chris Eubank Jr
Lee Selby vs Omar Douglas
Joe Joyce vs Bermane Stiverne
Saturday Feb 23 Fox Sports 1
Anthony Direll vs Avni Yildirim
WBC Super Middle Title
James Degale VS Chris Eubank Jr- Showtime Saturday
To me this is the most interesting fight of the weekend. Add in a loud ,excitable English crowd, who always comes out to support their fighters and you should have an electric atmosphere. Degale, the former 2008 Olympic Gold Medallist and former Super Middle Champion versus Eubank, the son of one of the best fighters to ever come out of England and a talented but underachieving fighter so far.
An Olympic Gold Medal and a world title coming from boxing crazy England would normally translate into superstardom for that fighter. Degale accomplished both and in order to win his title he came to the United States and beat a very good fighter in Andre Direll. He seemed to be on his way to big fights and big money. While he has been in with good fighters since and beat most of them he has not looked the same since 2015 when he beat Direll. Two lackluster decision wins against Lucian Bute and Porky Medina, a draw against Badou Jack in a fight where he was very close to getting stopped in the last round and a huge upset loss to Caleb Truax in a fight where he took a pretty significant beating rounded out his next 4 fights. He fought Truax in a rematch and won his title back but it was not an impressive victory and he seems to not be even close to the guy who won a title 4 years ago.
Eubank, who’s father was a world champion in the 90’s and one of the greatest fighters to ever come out of England has carved out a pretty nice career for himself. He lost his two biggest fights but they were both by fairly competitive decision to world champions Billy Joe Saunders and George Groves. He does hold a win against former champion Arthur Abraham and a KO win against Avni Yildrim who will be fighting Anthony Direll this Saturday for the WBC 168 pound title. When Eubank is in with B level fighters he looks like a superstar, tons of skills, athleticism and power. Unfortunately for him though he has not brought that fire and talent up with him when he fights better competition. Degale will be a step up although he probably is the third best guy Eubank has ever fought behind Saunders and Groves. And this version of Degale is not the same as it would have been if he fought him 4 years ago.
At their best I think Degale is the better fighter. But that version of Degale is not around anymore and I don’t think he ever will be again. Once you lose it it is very hard to get it back and he has had some very physically taxing fights. Eubank is still fairly fresh, even in his losses he didn’t take a bad beating and he has never been stopped. Unless Eubank freezes in the big moment I think he has more than enough to beat this version of Degale, It may not be easy though because while Degale’s skills have diminished his heart has not. Should be a fun fight.
Prediction
Eubank by Decision
Lee Selby vs Omar Douglas- Showtime
This is another very interesting and competitive fight where the outcome definitely is not certain. Selby, a former world champ at 126 pounds is coming off losing his title by decision to Josh Warrington. He now moves up to 130 pounds and is fighting a very tough opponent for his first fight back after a loss.
Douglas is 19-2 with both losses coming by very competitive decision to top level fighters Javier Fortuna and Edner Cherry. He is a short stocky fighter with a good left hook and holds several solid wins against good fighters. I think he is a very live underdog in this fight.
On one hand I give Selby a ton of credit to take this fight as his first fight back after losing his title. Moving up in weight will not make it any easier for him as well because Douglas is the naturally bigger guy. But I have to question the decision making here of Selby’s team. I think this is a bad matchup for him. When you lose your title and then decide to move up in weight everyone would understand taking a soft touch just to get back in the mix. Again, I give Selby credit for taking a tough fight but I don’t think it will work out for him here. I think Douglas will beat him in a mild upset although fighting in England if it is close the judges may not give it to him.
Prediction
Douglas by Decision
Joe Joyce vs Bermane Stiverne-Showtime
Joyce is one of my favorite heavyweights in a division that has been heating up for some time. At 6 foot 6 and 260 pounds of solid muscle he is a physical specimen and fits right in with the giants ruling the division today. An Olympic Silver Medallist he currently is 7-0 with all wins by KO. If there is a negative to his style he seems a little stiff and slow at times. But he makes up for it with huge power and solid skills, He has fought and KO’d solid competition so far although on paper Stiverne is a step up. But it is time for Joyce to step up and Stiverne is the perfect guy for the job. His conditioning is suspect and he is coming off a bad KO loss to Deontay Wilder. I expect Joyce to knock him out and probably do it sooner than later.
Prediction
Joyce by KO
Anthony Direll vs Avni Yildrim-Fox Sports 1
I don’t know much about Yildrim except his lone loss was a bad KO to Eubank and in his last fight he had a majority decision win against perennial contender Lolenga Mock. Direll is a former world champion who still seems to have something left and I think it should be more than enough.
Prediction
Direll by TKO
