? Frank Warren calls for rematch for super-middleweight title
? 'What James needed to do was be more emphatic'
James DeGale has been billed as "Hollywood" since he turned professional but after George Groves took his British super-middleweight crown that script requires a major rewrite.
DeGale might look at Amir Khan to discover how redemption is found after the most desperate of nights. The Bolton man returned from an opening-round demolition by Breidis Prescott in August 2008 to become a world champion within a year. The 25-year-old Londoner's career stands at a similar crossroads: he could buckle or this may be his Khan moment.
David Haye, who was in Groves's corner on Saturday night, also recovered from being stopped by Carl Thompson as a cruiserweight to become the WBA heavyweight champion. And DeGale was unrepentant after a display that was too tentative. "It felt like I didn't lose properly like that," he said. Amir Khan, David Haye both got knocked out.. It feels like [Groves] has nicked the title off me and I'm the champion. So hopefully we'll get the rematch. That's what I want, straight away, as soon as."
Scorecards of 115-115, 115-114, 115-114 in favour of Groves, after 12 riveting rounds, illustrate how close it was and support the suggestion he may have been fortunate.
DeGale, however, was always in peril of failing to convince the judges that his cautious approach of stepping continually forward, while unloading only sporadically, was the performance of a champion emphatically defending a title.
Frank Warren, DeGale's promoter, was clear that this was what cost his man. "He gave that fight to him. There were rounds there where there wasn't a lot of action and judges can go either way in that situation.
"I thought James won the fight by one or two rounds. But although he was walking him down, he wasn't throwing enough shots. What James needed to do was be more emphatic. If he'd stepped his work-rate up a bit he would have got the decision, and may even have stopped him."
A subdued DeGale came close to conceding Warren's point when admitting he did not get going until the closing rounds. "I just didn't want to make a mistake," he said. "I hit him with the cleanest shots when I hurt him in the ninth. I think the last four rounds I won easy; the second half of the fight was easy."
DeGale did accept he had been fooled by Groves's pre-fight claims that he would ensure it was a war. Instead the 23-year-old from Hammersmith, who added the British title to his Commonwealth belt, consistentlyrefused to engage. "I thought he had come to fight," DeGale said. Groves did, but in an astute manner, and his ability to find a way to the win was reminiscent of Joe Calzaghe, who retired unbeaten and as arguably the greatest post-war fighter from these shores.
For DeGale, a rematch would offer immediate succour. Warren said: "The [British Boxing] Board of Control should order it. It's a natural rematch so I don't see why they shouldn't do it."
Whether this happens is in Groves's hands. In a stinging reference to the defeat he also handed DeGale five years ago, when they were amateurs, he said: "How many times do I have to beat this man? Does he want a best-of-five?"
"He has no titles, he's just come off a loss, I'm pretty sure I can find a better opponent than James DeGale. Possibly I can see it happening a few years down the line, when we've both got different versions of the world title." For Groves this path is now clearer while DeGale must come through this "gut-check" to prove he can still be a true champion.
Nathan Cleverly made a first defence of the WBO light-heavyweight title by stopping Aleksy Kuziemski in four rounds. "Let's get the big fights on," said Cleverly, who is unbeaten and seems likely to fight in his native Wales next time out. Hours later Bernard Hopkins, 46, defeated Jean Pascal on points in Montreal to become the oldest world champion ever.
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