James DeGale apparently thought he was invincible.
Reassured and hyped up by his trainer Jim McDonnell and with the knowledge and experience gained from winning an Olympic gold medal and taking the British title in the hostile backyard of his Liverpudlian opponent - not to mention the backing of pundits and the bookies - he thought he could not fail when he took on bitter rival George Groves.
The loud boos from the crowd in the O2 Arena towards DeGale in his home city of London may not have dented his shell of extreme confidence much but the startlingly unexpected tactics of Groves to click into reverse after the first bell had him scratching his head.
The defeat to Groves - whose Hayemaker camp looked ready to party afterwards, and rightly so - will have left DeGale sore.
It was a close contest that could have gone either way in my view. Groves picked his way to a lead in the first half but was caught as the fight progressed into the second half. Groves threw and landed more, while Sky Sports' Jim Watt had DeGale one point ahead.
DeGale seemed puzzled and said afterwards: "I weren't really too sure what he was going to do, he said he was going to come and knock me out in four rounds..."
Welcome to the world of boxing James, where as they say boxing is 90% mental and 10% physical. Of course he knew that, which is why he used the build up to taunt and degrade Groves, trying to force him to lose his cool and fight wild. That would have suited DeGale, who has nice, sharp reflexes, down to a tee.
To paraphrase the Chris Eubank-Nigel Benn promotion, who was fooling who?
George Groves it seemed had the intelligence and foresight, and not to mention wise wisdom of Adam Booth, to try something unexpected, something perhaps which might not have come immediately naturally to the instincts of a come-forward fighter.
James DeGale had promised so much before the fight. He said he would blow away Groves inside the distance, while his trainer McDonnell even predicted a first round stoppage. At the final press conference both fighter and his boisterous trainer jumped up and demanded Groves bet his purse on the fight such was their confidence.
So the stakes were high, which is why there was a lot of disappointment in DeGale, who seemed reluctant to let his hands go despite appearing to have the edge with speed. People had lower expectations of Groves, by contrast, and he had less to lose. To be able to last the course and win was and is seen as a marvellous achievement.
He did what he had to do in there - DeGale, despite it being a close fight, didn't.
There is an old adage, 'show me a good loser and I'll show you a loser' so perhaps it should not be seen as a bad thing that DeGale was so sore at losing. After all, the fight could have swung either way. However, there was an element of bitterness, and dare I say delusion, at the post-fight press conference. Frank Warren looked hacked off that his prospect had lost his unbeaten record, yet he admitted it was a close fight. He's demanding Groves signs for a rematch.
The question is, would Warren have been demanding a rematch if DeGale had got the nod from the judges?
Where Adam Booth was keen to stress afterwards that Groves and DeGale are not the finished articles and have a long way to go - they need to address their weaknesses - DeGale, McDonnell and Warren appeared to be indulging in feeling-sorry-for-themselves backslaps, bemoaning the decision. That might have been for the media, keeping a united front and trying to keep DeGale's confidence, but surely they need to consider why DeGale lost and not why he apparently should have got the decision. DeGale needed to throw more, he got caught a fair few times coming in. He also needs to cut out the fouls - a blatant shoulder charge and elbow push were committed on Groves.
Then there's the image issue. It's one thing going into a hostile Liverpool arena to take on local fighter Paul Smith and getting booed but another to fight in your own city, as an Olympic gold medallist, and earn the wrath of fans. As Chris Eubank showed, taking the jeers can sometimes inspire fighters to victory and it might also help the bank balance too if people pay because they want to see you lose. Yet, there was the suggestion from some that the crowd helped roar on Groves to a victory, perhaps even having a little effect on the judges.
Frankly James DeGale was classless in the build up to this contest and that endeared him to no-one. He was brash and cruel, egged on by his vocal trainer McDonnell. These tactics could have helped give him an edge if Groves had let the red mist descend but they didn't. DeGale was left with egg on his face as the crowd jeered as he briefly stood on the ringpost at the close of the fight. That part was a shame as DeGale had shown bravery and was willing to mix it up right until the final bell. In the post-fight press conference DeGale showed himself to be a bad loser and refused to give Groves any credit. James, by contrast, was willing to describe DeGale as a "tremendous fighter" - although the taste of victory may have made saying things like that a little easier.
George Groves has said he will not go into a rematch anytime soon and with both fighters certainly capable of stepping up to European and world level in the future, if they live up to their promise, it might be a contest worth waiting for down the line. Neither man was badly hurt physically but it's now a question of that have they learned? DeGale can cry about the judging or he can knuckle down and try and match better tactics with his undoubted skill. Groves too may have got the decision but he showed faults as well.
The rematch can marinate for now. Groves and DeGale should be able to meet each other further down the field with bigger and better prizes in store.
Reassured and hyped up by his trainer Jim McDonnell and with the knowledge and experience gained from winning an Olympic gold medal and taking the British title in the hostile backyard of his Liverpudlian opponent - not to mention the backing of pundits and the bookies - he thought he could not fail when he took on bitter rival George Groves.
The loud boos from the crowd in the O2 Arena towards DeGale in his home city of London may not have dented his shell of extreme confidence much but the startlingly unexpected tactics of Groves to click into reverse after the first bell had him scratching his head.
The defeat to Groves - whose Hayemaker camp looked ready to party afterwards, and rightly so - will have left DeGale sore.
It was a close contest that could have gone either way in my view. Groves picked his way to a lead in the first half but was caught as the fight progressed into the second half. Groves threw and landed more, while Sky Sports' Jim Watt had DeGale one point ahead.
DeGale seemed puzzled and said afterwards: "I weren't really too sure what he was going to do, he said he was going to come and knock me out in four rounds..."
Welcome to the world of boxing James, where as they say boxing is 90% mental and 10% physical. Of course he knew that, which is why he used the build up to taunt and degrade Groves, trying to force him to lose his cool and fight wild. That would have suited DeGale, who has nice, sharp reflexes, down to a tee.
To paraphrase the Chris Eubank-Nigel Benn promotion, who was fooling who?
George Groves it seemed had the intelligence and foresight, and not to mention wise wisdom of Adam Booth, to try something unexpected, something perhaps which might not have come immediately naturally to the instincts of a come-forward fighter.
James DeGale had promised so much before the fight. He said he would blow away Groves inside the distance, while his trainer McDonnell even predicted a first round stoppage. At the final press conference both fighter and his boisterous trainer jumped up and demanded Groves bet his purse on the fight such was their confidence.
So the stakes were high, which is why there was a lot of disappointment in DeGale, who seemed reluctant to let his hands go despite appearing to have the edge with speed. People had lower expectations of Groves, by contrast, and he had less to lose. To be able to last the course and win was and is seen as a marvellous achievement.
He did what he had to do in there - DeGale, despite it being a close fight, didn't.
There is an old adage, 'show me a good loser and I'll show you a loser' so perhaps it should not be seen as a bad thing that DeGale was so sore at losing. After all, the fight could have swung either way. However, there was an element of bitterness, and dare I say delusion, at the post-fight press conference. Frank Warren looked hacked off that his prospect had lost his unbeaten record, yet he admitted it was a close fight. He's demanding Groves signs for a rematch.
The question is, would Warren have been demanding a rematch if DeGale had got the nod from the judges?
Where Adam Booth was keen to stress afterwards that Groves and DeGale are not the finished articles and have a long way to go - they need to address their weaknesses - DeGale, McDonnell and Warren appeared to be indulging in feeling-sorry-for-themselves backslaps, bemoaning the decision. That might have been for the media, keeping a united front and trying to keep DeGale's confidence, but surely they need to consider why DeGale lost and not why he apparently should have got the decision. DeGale needed to throw more, he got caught a fair few times coming in. He also needs to cut out the fouls - a blatant shoulder charge and elbow push were committed on Groves.
Then there's the image issue. It's one thing going into a hostile Liverpool arena to take on local fighter Paul Smith and getting booed but another to fight in your own city, as an Olympic gold medallist, and earn the wrath of fans. As Chris Eubank showed, taking the jeers can sometimes inspire fighters to victory and it might also help the bank balance too if people pay because they want to see you lose. Yet, there was the suggestion from some that the crowd helped roar on Groves to a victory, perhaps even having a little effect on the judges.
Frankly James DeGale was classless in the build up to this contest and that endeared him to no-one. He was brash and cruel, egged on by his vocal trainer McDonnell. These tactics could have helped give him an edge if Groves had let the red mist descend but they didn't. DeGale was left with egg on his face as the crowd jeered as he briefly stood on the ringpost at the close of the fight. That part was a shame as DeGale had shown bravery and was willing to mix it up right until the final bell. In the post-fight press conference DeGale showed himself to be a bad loser and refused to give Groves any credit. James, by contrast, was willing to describe DeGale as a "tremendous fighter" - although the taste of victory may have made saying things like that a little easier.
George Groves has said he will not go into a rematch anytime soon and with both fighters certainly capable of stepping up to European and world level in the future, if they live up to their promise, it might be a contest worth waiting for down the line. Neither man was badly hurt physically but it's now a question of that have they learned? DeGale can cry about the judging or he can knuckle down and try and match better tactics with his undoubted skill. Groves too may have got the decision but he showed faults as well.
The rematch can marinate for now. Groves and DeGale should be able to meet each other further down the field with bigger and better prizes in store.
great summary.
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