Showtime Fight Preview

Badou Jack vs. Lucian Bute

On Saturday night Showtime will air two title fights from Washington, D.C. where strange things seem to happen around the sport.  The main event of that card will be a 12-round bout between Badou Jack and Lucian Bute for Jack's WBC super middleweight title.  Jack won that title by defeating Anthony Dirrell who will also be in action this weekend.  Meanwhile, Bute is coming off a loss and looking to rebound by taking Jack's title strap.

Jack is riding a four fight win streak

Jack, who fights out of the orthodox stance and who is riding a four fight win streak, seems to get better each time he enters the ring.  Jack loves to fight behind his jab and it is because he has a very good one.  Along with the jab Jack also carries a solid left hook but the punch he typically scores knockdowns with is his right hand.  Jack will throw the right straight or over the top and while he doesn't use the punch as often as he should it still remains a good weapon for him.  Defensively Jack is solid but not great and he has had his chin checked in the form of a first round knockout to Derek Edwards.  Bute can definitely bang so Jack needs to keep a tight guard.

Under Mayweather Promotions, Jack has been brought along at a nice pace and he was a top prospect on the rise until 2013.  That year he fought to a disappointing draw with Marco Antonio Periban and while he followed that up by stopping Rogelio Medina in his next fight, which took place in 2014, he was knocked out in the opening round.  However, since that loss he has gone 4-0 including wins over Direll and George Groves.  For his career Jack has a record of 20-1-1 with 12 knockouts and he is among the best super middleweight in the division today.

After a loss Bute finds himself in a title fight

Bute is a southpaw who carries more pop on his punches than Jack does.  He too has a stiff jab and he has always shown a very stiff straight left hand.  Along with those punches Bute also puts in good work with uppercuts from his left hand and he has a short right hook that he really likes to bang to the body.  However, Bute has been through many tough fights making him an old 36-year-old.  Bute also doesn't move as well as he used to and in recent fights against top opponents he hasn't looked great.

Bute turned pro in 2003 a full six years before Jack did.  He has had a long career and has faced the best on many occasions.  Some of Bute's bigger fights have come against Sakio Bika, Glen Johnson, Carl Froch, Jean Pascal, and James DeGale.  Bute definitely has the advantage when it comes to experience and his career record stands at 32-3 with a strong 25 knockouts.  Bute may be on his last legs and is 2-3 in his last five fights but he always has a puncher's chance.

This fight could come down to the boxing ability and movement of Jack against the power of Bute.  Bute doesn't move as well as he used to and he was never a slick fighter to begin with.  Jack is the superior boxer but he has also been floored and he will need to avoid the heavy leather coming his way from Bute.  Bute has a punchers chance, especially when he gets close so look for Jack to stick and move and use his youth and stamina to win this fight on the scorecards.

PREDICTION: As long as Badou Jack doesn't catch a punch from Lucian Bute that he doesn't see coming he should be fine.  Bute is still a quality fighter so he will have his moments but Jack seems to improve with every fight and he should be slick enough and sharp enough late to win this fight by the way of unanimous decision.

James DeGale vs. Rogelio "Porky" Medina

The co-feature for Saturday's Showtime card will also be a title fight.  The fight, scheduled to go 12 rounds in the super middleweight division will feature James DeGale taking on Rogelio "Porky" Medina.  On the line will be DeGale's IBF super middleweight title which he won after beating Andre Direll, who will be in action on a separate network on Friday night.

DeGale will defend his title for a third time

DeGale fights out of the southpaw stance and while he is known for being very slick he also has some power on his punches.  His jab is one of his better weapons but he also has a very good overhand left.  One of DeGale's best attributes is the fact that he can stick and move extremely well from the outside and he also has the ability to find success mixing things up on the inside.  While Medina may not be the big name opponent DeGale is looking for he is a dangerous fighter so DeGale can't overlook him.  

As an amateur DeGale had a great career which included winning a gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.  As a pro he has faced solid competition but his two most recent opponents, Direll and Lucian Bute have been his best.  As a pro DeGale's record has only one blemish; a loss to George Groves earlier in his career.  Since that loss DeGale has been perfect and his record is 22-1 with 14 knockouts.  If someone was to claim they were the best fighter in the super middleweight division DeGale would probably be the guy.  

Medina will look to score another upset win

Medina is an orthodox fighter with a very different skill set than DeGale.  Medina isn't a boxer, he is a puncher who loves to mix things up and his fights tend to end via the knockout and sometimes he is the one being knocked out.  The style of Medina is definitely reckless but he has a monster left hook that can end a fight in an instant.  The left hook isn't Medina's only weapon he also is good at landing uppercuts from the right hand on the inside, which is where he is most comfortable fighting.  Defensively Medina will drop his hands a lot and he is usually there to be hit.

Currently Medina finds himself riding a four fight win streak and all four fights have ended with a knockout.  However, in his last 10 fights his record is 6-4 and he was knocked out in one of those fights.  Medina's career record is 36-6 with a very impressive 30 knockouts but he has also been knocked out three times himself.  While Medina has some nice names on his resume such as Yori Boy Campas, Jose Uzcategui, Badou Jack, and J'Leon Love who doesn't typically do well against top opposition and DeGale may be his best opponent to date.

Much like the main event this fight will come down to whose style prevails.  DeGale will want to keep this fight on the outside where he can keep Medina at the end of his punches but Medina will be doing his best to get inside where he can mix things up and land some power punches against DeGale.  Medina will have to work hard to cut off the ring and keep DeGale where he wants him but that won't be an easy task and may prove impossible. 

PREDICTION: Rogelio "Porky" Medina definitely has a punchers chance against James DeGale but it isn't easy to punch what you can't catch up to.  DeGale is much slicker than Medina and is probably a better boxer than anyone he has faced.  Because of that DeGale will have a fairly easy time as long as he can avoid Medina's power.  He should be able to do that and DeGale will win this fight via unanimous decision.