Badou Jack vs. James DeGale: Fight Time, Date, Live Stream and TV Info

The Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, was host to some of the most entertaining boxing matches of 2016—with Carl Frampton's win over Leo Santa Cruz and the epic slugfest between Keith Thurman and Shawn Porter the two prime examples—but the arena has been dormant as a boxing venue for over five months.

That will change on Saturday with a promising, high-profile bout, as Badou Jack takes on James DeGale in a super middleweight unification scrap. 

As a match between the top two fighters in the super middleweight division, per The Ring, Jack-DeGale makes for a fine start to the calendar year for boxing fans.

Jack, the WBC World super middleweight champion, is coming off a controversial majority-decision draw against Lucian Bute on April 30. DeGale, who holds the IBF world title in the division, fought on that same date, defeating Rogelio Medina by unanimous decision. 

Also on the televised card is Jose "Sniper" Pedraza (22-0, 12 KOs), who will defend his IBF World super featherweight title against the hard-punching 22-year-old Gervonta Davis (16-0, 15 KOs).

Badou Jack vs. James DeGale Fight Info

When: Saturday, Jan. 14 at 9:30 p.m. ET

Where: Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York

TV Info: Showtime (U.S.), Sky Sports 1 (UK)

Live Stream: ShowtimeAnytime, SkySports.com

Badou Jack		James DeGale
20-1-2, 12 KOs	Record	23-1, 14 KOs
52%	KO Percentage	58%
130	Rounds	159
33	Age	30
6'1"	Height	6'0"
73"	Reach	74"
Orthodox	Stance	Southpaw

Jack is something of a late bloomer in boxing. The Swedish-born boxer didn't win the WBC World title, the first title of any kind in his career, until he was 31, when he defeated Anthony Dirrell by majority decision in April 2015. This was only three bouts after he suffered a first-round TKO loss to Derek Edwards, which to his credit remains the only loss of his career. 

Jack, 33, has taken on solid competition since winning the title. He scored a first-round knockdown against George Groves and managed to hold on for a split-decision win, and then fought the hard-hitting Bute seven months later. 

John Locher/Associated Press

While the bout came to a draw, Bute ended up testing positive for a banned substance in a post-bout screening, which has taken some of the sting off a result that many thought should've been clearly in Jack's favor.

All this has brought him to DeGale, a British boxer looking to continue a solid string of recent results that includes clear-cut, unanimous-decision wins over Medina, Bute and Anthony Dirrell's brother, Andre. 

Jack and DeGale have four common opponents: Groves (who handed DeGale his lone professional defeat), Medina, Bute and Marco Antonio Periban. 

Kathy Willens/Associated Press

In a media conference call with both boxers on the line, per ESPN.com's Dan Rafael, Jack and DeGale each gave their thoughts on previous opponents, with both fighters going through their respective performances but without trying to put too much stock in them.

"I don't care about old fights, if he went 12 rounds with this guy and this guy," Jack said, per Rafael. "Me and DeGale have to fight, so whatever happened in the past, it don't matter."

 "You went life and death with Periban. Life and death. I knocked him out in three rounds. That don't mean nothing right now. It's me and you, baby," DeGale responded, per Rafael.

If nothing else, the solid list of common opponents demonstrates that both fighters are battle-tested and more than willing to take on the challenges needed to advance their respective careers. After all, this mindset is how they are coming to face each other on Saturday. 

DeGale presents an interesting challenge for Jack, who is not a knockout fighter. The British boxer is younger than Jack by three years, fights southpaw and has a slightly longer reach. On top of that, boxer Paul Smith, who lost to DeGale by TKO in 2010, noted that DeGale's style makes him a tough out, as he wrote for SkySports.com: 

"

Anyone that fights him, the first thing you have to deal with is the awkwardness. Getting someone to spar like DeGale, there are not many people that can do it. He gets inside and wants to throw a lot of punches, he's not negative. He might not have the best chin in the world, but who knows, because a lot of fighters struggle to land clean shots on him.

The Groves defeat brought him down a peg or two and made him realise he's not invincible, he's not this world-beater that he thought he was at that time. But he's certainly made up for it after that loss. He's obviously a lot better than when he lost to Groves, as he's proven by becoming a world champion. He's got an exciting style, he's a good boxer, an Olympic gold medallist, and has improved definitely. That loss probably did him the world of good.

"

If Jack is to defeat the crafty DeGale, he's going to need to be precise in his punching. Jack likes to come forward in incremental fashion, gradually working his way inside before unleashing combinations.

He'll need to find a way to get in close against the southpaw DeGale and work the body the way he did against Dirrell and Groves without leaving himself exposed to a counterattack.

DeGale's awkward style could be useful if he can get Jack frustrated early and looking for the power punch instead of keeping a high guard and setting things up with a jab. 

This is a litmus test for both fighters. Jack hasn't had the most sterling run so far as a world champion, with close decisions and an unfortunate draw on the ledger, but picking up another title would be a massive, career-defining win for him.

DeGale is technically the road warrior in this one as Jack trains stateside in Las Vegas. A win for him would greatly raise his profile at a time when British boxing is booming, perhaps leading to even greater and more lucrative opportunities on either side of the Atlantic.