Badou Jack and James DeGale battle to a draw in a dramatic war

Badou Jack vs. James DeGale, Majority Draw (114-112 DeGale, 113-113, 113-113)

Badou Jack and James DeGale entered their title unification fight as the #1 and #2 Super Middleweights in the world, and the battle they turned in was deserving of a fight between the division’s clear best.

Jack and DeGale were incredibly evenly matched throughout, with both men having their moments in a lot of close, tough to score rounds. The drama started early, with DeGale dropping Jack in round 1. Jack recovered nicely, shaking it off and staying in it, and the first half was a highly technical affair. In the back half, things heated up in a big way, with some serious drama and fire from both men. Things culminated in a tremendous 12th round where DeGale hit the canvas for the first time in his career, only to come back with some wild shots in the final seconds.

With a number of close rounds, this was destined to be a controversial decision no matter what. I scored it for Jack, but the draw seems like a logical decision.

Post-fight, there was talk of a rematch, but Jack and his promoter Floyd Mayweather both stated Jack would be moving up to 175 pounds for his next fight, with Mayweather making it clear he had no interest in Jack vs. DeGale II.

Opening the Showtime card was a star-making performance from Gervonta Davis, who claimed a world title at age 22, defeating Jose Pedraza in an excellent performance and an entertaining fight.