British Scene: James DeGale vs Paul Smith Preview

Dave Oakes previews Saturday's Super-Middleweight clash between Paul Smith and James DeGale.  Check out Dave's previews for the rest of the show: Bellew vs McKenzie & Cleverly vs Mohammedi - Macklin vs Veron - Brook vs Kotey

The headline fight for the British leg of the Saturday’s GR8 Britain versus The World PPV show sees Paul Smith defending his British super-middleweight against the unbeaten James DeGale.

This will be Smith’s second defence of the title he won just over a year ago against local rival Tony Quigley, and it should also be the hardest fight of his career - the same applies to DeGale, who’s taking a big step-up in class.

Olympic gold medallist DeGale has had everything is own way thus far in his short career. Carl Dilks was expected to test him last time out but DeGale blew him away inside a round, the affable Scouser being unable to cope with DeGale’s speed and accuracy.

DeGale, 8-0 (6 KO’s), has adapted well to the paid ranks, something many people doubted he would be able to do, and is looking like a potential world champion. His speed is his main attribute but he’s shown decent punch power as well, which was especially noticeable in the way he took out Sam Horton in May this year.

There can be no doubting the confidence DeGale has in his own ability, and his team clearly share that confidence and feel he’s ready to start making inroads towards a world title. To take on a tough champion like Paul Smith in his ninth fight is impressive and shows that he believes he’s on a different level to everyone else in Britain, something he’s alluded to in press conferences and interviews in the build-up to the fight.

Smith, 29-1 (15 KO’s), is the more experienced fighter and is battle hardened after coming through tough fights with the likes of the aforementioned Quigley and another local rival in Tony Dodson. There was a lot of pressure on Smith in those fights, and despite producing scrappy performances, he managed to get the decision both times.

I’ve noticed that Smith has a habit of fighting down to the level of his opponent; his eagerness to perform well sees him smothering his work at times and thus turns his fights into messy disjointed affairs. This time he’s facing someone who has superior skills than him, so it should be interesting to see if he can improve on recent performances and box to the level many think he’s capable of – a level he’s only shown glimpses of in thirty fights.

Smith has got a good chin, great tenacity and can be a dangerous body puncher, he’ll certainly ask more questions of DeGale than all of the challengers previous opponents have. It remains to be seen whether DeGale can take a big shot or how he deals with going into the later rounds, hopefully Saturday night will provide him with the opportunity to answer those uncertainties.

I can see DeGale starting cautiously, taking a couple of rounds to take a look at Smith before opening up more as the fight wears on. The first few rounds could be close but DeGale’s speed and accuracy will eventually begin taking their toll on Smith, who’ll be trying to rough up DeGale on the inside and force him into a toe to toe battle.

Smith is a tough fighter and a big step up for DeGale but I think the Olympic gold medallist has the potential to go on to greater things and can see him coming through the fight in style, either via a comfortable points decision or late stoppage.

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