Be patient with DeGale

DeGale had to work hard in his last fight

James DeGale has his second taste of Channel 5 TV exposure this weekend, as he challenges tough Colombian Fulgencio Zuniga for the vacant WBC Silver Super Middleweight title at the Bonus Arena in Hull. This comes after a promising, if a little inconsistent, debut on the channel from the 2008 Olympic Gold Medallist, where he successfully defended his European title against France's Hadillah Mohoumadi with a unanimous decision.

DeGale has set himself up for a fall in his rather short pro career, he talked the talked against George Groves, but failed to walk the walk, in what was a very close fight. This comes after being booed on his pro debut, but I sense there could be a change in public perception towards DeGale after his move to Mick Hennessy's promotional stable. Before his last fight a feature with James was aired, and there wasn't as much of the brash, and somewhat full of hot air talk, that we've seen from him in the past. He looked confident and fresh, looking very much forward to a new start in his career after leaving Frank Warren.

Bute destroyed Zuniga in their March 2009

I don't think Warren can be blamed in James' career, he was disappointed when the renowned promoter signed rival Groves, but even after that defeat, DeGale was handed a European title shot against Poland's Piotr Wilczewski, coming through some difficult periods to narrowly claim a majority decision.

The point of this piece is with this fight coming up now, I think people shouldn't put too much pressure on James. We know what he did as an amateur, but the pro's is a completely different game and he's already achieved a lot. He won the British title in his 9th pro fight, travelling to Liverpool to face home favourite Paul Smith, and has had three European title fights already. The southpaw holds a very lofty 13th placed ranking in the world with Boxrec, which I believe he deserves as he's come through some difficult tests, but let's not get ahead of ourselves, I believe DeGale is way off a world title shot. He's boxed just 75 pro rounds, and could do with at least two or three further 12 round contests.

N'Diaye lies in wait for DeGale

This bout with Zuniga could provide him with further experience, as he's taking on a very experienced opponent. The Colombian has a record of 25-6-1 (22 KO's) and the only two guys to have stopped him are a 26-0 Kelly Pavlik and 23-0 Lucian Bute. In his most recent bout he went the 12 round distance with the unbeaten in 21 fights South African Thomas Oostuhizen, who had been linked to a fight with Carl Froch earlier in the year, and showed his resilience in that bout. DeGale has had just 14 fights and I hope fans/pundits respect what's in front of him here, this will be a hard fight and it would be a great experience for James if he gets the full 12 rounds. Saying this if he is able to stop Zuniga, it has to go down as a massive statement.

Hennessy is expected to keep the man from Harlesden very busy and a mandatory defence of his European title is pencilled in at Bluewater in Kent for the 26th of January, against the hard hitting African born Italian Mohuamed N'Diaye in what could be a real treat for Boxing fans in the UK.