By Sean McDaniel: After only 10 fights, unbeaten super middleweight contender James DeGale (10-8, 8 KO’s) is already ranked high in the super middleweight division at #3 WBO, #11 IBF and #14 WBC. Next month DeGale is facing his toughest test in undefeated Commonwealth champion George Groves (12-0, 10 KO’s) in a fight at the O2 arena in London, England. A win over Groves will likely give DeGale a big enough boost where he will be all but impossible for the title holders to ignore.

DeGale, only 25, will likely fight once or twice after beating Groves and then take on one of the champions. However, DeGale looks more than good enough to beat the World Boxing Organization (WBO) super middleweight champion Robert Stieglitz.

The fight with Groves is more of a local grudge match rather than a fight where DeGale has any chance of losing. He’s simply a better fighter than Groves and it’s going to become painfully obvious after the first couple of rounds. DeGale needs to get this out of his system and realize he can’t be held down by one domestic fighter after another calling him out. When you’re a big fish in a small pond like DeGale, it actually is a bad thing if you listen to all the guppies around you looking to make a name for themselves at your expense. DeGale gains little in beating all these fighters and ends up hurting himself by stalling his career at a lower level.

Speaking on the subject of rankings, DeGale said this at frankwarren.tv: “It’s nice to get a bit of recognition from the governing bodies after just a handful of fights. But hopefully it will be the whole country noticing after I’ve knocked out Groves.”