James DeGale vs Badou Jack: Brit demands a rematch after unification bout in New York ends in draw

JAMES DeGALE received the fright of his life - but immediately called for a rematch.

A bruising super-middleweight unification clash with Badou Jack in New York ended in a draw with both fighters showing the kind of heart and resilience needed to be king of the world.

DeGale said: “He showed he’s tough and durable. I hit the cleaner shots but let’s do it again. You can come to London."

It was just about right.

This was a frighteningly close encounter with WBC king Jack proving one hell of a tough and tricky customer.

DeGale sent him down in the first round but fell to the canvas in the last as Jack really unleashed and finished the stronger.

Both fighters keep their belts though a rematch is doubtful with the Swede set to move up to light-heavyweight.

Floyd Mayweather, the Las Vegas-based bruiser’s promoter, said: “This is another bad decision for Badou."

You could argue all day long but , in all fairness, a draw was spot on.

The stage was certainly set for Chunky’s big night.

The legendary Mayweather , who was promoting this event was ringside, the Barclays Center here in Brooklyn was buzzing.

This was the moment DeGale had been waiting for.

All week long the Brit has waxed lyrical about the fantastic shape he was in. The loss of stamina late on which has characterised some of his fights was , he said, a thing of the past.

Well, we were about to find out.

The crowd had already been whipped into a frenzy following a pulsating super lightweight clash which saw the brilliant young American Gervonta Davis destroy reigning champ Jose Pedraza to win his first world crown.

It was a menacing, devastating display from the man dubbed ‘the mini-Tyson.’

More of the same from Chunky would see his dream of unifying the super-middleweight division gloriously realised.

A healthy Brit pack were in amongst the 10,000 crowd and were desperate to see the 30 year-old make a solid start.

They were in luck. A superb left smacked against Jack’s chin and the Swede went to the floor. He rose straight up but Chunky followed up with his first serious assault.

Mayweather was on his feet. He sensed his man was in trouble.

DeGale was dictating the tempo, dancing around forcing Jack to work hard for an angle.

The first three rounds were in the bag. There was , however, a long way to go.

A clean uppercut at the start of the fourth rocked Jack’s chin. The Londoner began swinging wildly, but his opponent took the shots and began picking up the pace.

Jack was beginning to connect with increasing regularity - and even landed one on poor ref at the end of round five.

Going into the sixth , DeGale was ahead - but only just. Mayweather’s man had found a way back in. Chunky looked tired, his power wasn’t getting through.

A nice combination edged the seventh but Jack began unleashing bombs at the start of the eighth. The Ripper is supremely solid, so DeGale was finding out to his cost.

He was beginning to dictate but the margins were miniscule.

The lifelong Gooner needed to pull something special out of the bag.

Jack wasn’t going anywhere. A strong 11th from Chunky boosted him up going into the final round though in truth neither fighter had totally dominated.

One minute and a half in, disaster struck. A left hook boomed into the side of DeGale’s head and the 2008 Olympic champ hit the floor.

It was a cracking fight and the respect between the two was there for all to see.

Jack said: “He was doing a lot of running, I thought I won the fight.

Promoter Lou Di Bella added: “DeGale’s balls in the last round showed what he is all about."

That, like the result, was bang on the money.