British boxing's Golden Boy James DeGale won a majority points decision over defending champion Piotr Wilczewski to lift the European super-middleweight title in a thrilling encounter at Liverpool's ECHO Arena on Saturday night. In his first fight since losing his British 168 title to arch-nemesis George Groves in July, DeGale was forced to absorb some block-buster shots from the shaven headed, heavily tattooed Wilczewski, who gave DeGale the toughest test of his brief but meteoric career. 

33 year old Wilczewski  entered the fight as the UK betting underdog, though he was in fact ranked second in the world at super middleweight by the WBO, with DeGale rated only seventh. Wilczewski certainly didn't compete as if he thought of himself as an underdog, taking the fight to DeGale from the opening bell. 

DeGale attempted to use his smooth boxing skills, but time and again Wilczewski would enforce his own mentality onto him – pushing DeGale out of his comfort zone. The result was round after round of intense trench-warfare, with both men butting heads often as they ripped head and body shots at each other at a frantic pace. It was high-octane stuff and reminded this writer of the first fight between Sugar Ray Leonard and Roberto Duran - when the smooth boxing Leonard elected to play macho man and went toe to toe with ''Manos de Piedra'' for 15 exhilarating rounds.

DeGale and Wilczewski may not quite be Sugar Ray Leonard and Roberto Duran, but it was thrilling stuff nevertheless. In the fifth round Wilczewski - whose trademark punch is his swinging left hook, smashed a straight right hand to the cheekbone of DeGale, which seemed to temporarily incapacitate him. Had the shot landed three inches further north, DeGale would surely have hit the deck. Although badly stunned, he had the presence of mind and the survival instincts to clinch until his head cleared.

DeGale proved beyond any doubt that he has the heart of a champion by firing back in rounds 6 to 9 and taking the fight right to the Pole. Wilczewski had set a ferocious pace over the first five rounds, but could not maintain it once DeGale stepped on the gas.   

Wilczewski seemed to get his second wind in the tenth, and scored with several telling rights to put himself back in the fight. Another monster right hand rocked DeGale in the eleventh round, though he took it well and came firing back with hard shots of his own. Both men went hell for leather in the final round, as if both men realized just how desperately close it was.

There were a few nervous looks amongst DeGale and his corner before the decision was announced and his hand was raised as the winner by a majority decision. The scores were 115-113 by two judges, with the third judge seeing it  a 114-114 draw. The reality was Wilczewski had been revealed to be an excellent fighter who could come again, certainly at European level. DeGale just shaded it in this writers opinion, but had he drew or even lost, there would have been few raised eyebrows. 

DeGale has been pushed to the limit in his last two fights, and emerged 1-1, but could easily have been down 0-2. One gets the impression that because he was rushed early in his career, fighting for the British title in only his 9th fight, he is now paying the price. DeGale is a fabulously talented fighter, but he has not had enough professional experience to cope easily with problems when they arise. When George Groves elected to box instead of slug, DeGale looked lost. When Wilczewski dragged him into a war of attrition, DeGale happily followed. 

Most alarming of all was DeGale's openness to a right hand. He spoke afterward of fighting the winner of the rescheduled match between  Germany's WBO 168 lb champion Robert Stieglitz and former three time super middleweight champion Mikkel Kessler of Denmark, in which the Dane will be the hot favorite to win. 

Kessler is famed for the dynamite he carries in his right hand, so trainer Jim McDonnell had better start working hard on tightening his charge's defence before signing for a Kessler v DeGale matchup.