James DeGale v Bika?

[STEELHEAD]

James won again on Saturday night with a typically 'in-and-out' performance against a very basic, properly game Armenian tough guy.

He showed great potential and flashes of ability as well as the kind of basic, avoidable mistakes that also make you think that he is going to come up badly short against a world champion and get himslef in a world of grief.

However, with Badou Jack imploding big-time this weekend; James is now well-set to get a fight with the dangerous, unpredictable and seasoned champion Sakio Bika and for the belt.

Should James take the fight and give it a go or should he bide his time, get his fitness back and iron out some of those issues? And if he does go for Bika how does he go?

I am a fan of James...but I am not sold

degale is not in the same ballpark as bika. besides his team wouldnt dare put him up against bika at this stage of his carrer.

[Bodyshot3]

I am going to disagree with you Steelhead.....I think that DeGale will take the fight if it is offered, he wants to be fighting at that level and is impatient with ticking over at the level he currently is. James is ambitious and seeing Groves going for belts must gnaw at him; and he's got Hennessey pushing/lobbying hard to deliver the fight.

As to whether he is in the same ballpark as Bika; I'd agree that's much more up for debate.

Part of me thinks that Bika is exactly the kind of fighter James should be avoiding like the proverbial plague right now and is going to punish the mistakes he makes and run straight over him. If a basic slugger like the Armenian/Dutch guy can rough you up...then Bika is going to have a party.

But there's a counter-argument that Sakio is old, basic and predicatable and that DeGale's speed and technique could see him causing an upset.

It is a classic toss-up fight betwen two hugely contrasting fighters and that's why I like it so much.

[Earl-Hickey]

DeGale might as well take this fight

Has he been fighting down to his opposition, possibly

But if you are world class, you beat Bika

lets find out one way or the other

[HackneyBoy]

I'm a huge Degale fan and I was disappointed in his fight against Cats and Chickens, he was to easy to hit for a slick fighter and other than body shots, his power wasn't impressive enough.

The deal with Degale is his slickness and timing must be optimal to succeed at top level. A lot of us were looking for a marker as to where he is right now. I was not satisfied that this is the best Degale at the moment, but time is running out so he needs to find levels quickly.

[boxingfan10]

James DeGale is going to fight Marco Antonio Periban on the
undercard of Tony Bellew-Nathan Cleverly II on November 22
which should be a great card being promoted by MatchRoom
Sport. James DeGale is already the mandatory for Carl Froch
and St. George Groves is the mandatory for Anthony Dirrell.

[soul_survivor]

I wouldn't mind Bika v DeGale, it's a fight he has every chance of winning, Bika is old now.