Chris Eubank Jr wins unanimously in points, leaving James DeGale on the verge of retirement

The bloody weather rounds of this all-British rancor match have confirmed that, although James DeGale's professional boxing career has been going on for a decade, he may still be able to find a future job as a seer. On a cleverly disheveled TV, he had solemnly declared that this fight was a "fight for retirement." The final curtain was thus able to be lifted by a man he fired and ridiculed since a sparring session unleashed about seven years ago.

At the time, Chris Eubank Jr. was fiercely proselytizing as future world champion and heir to Floyd Mayweather's golden throne – if only by his own father and Ronnie Davis. Courageous but daring, Eubank's career has never been so advanced, but he has at least recorded a long-awaited victory, thus preserving his professional career.

Eubank Jr finally found the determination to defeat a legitimately reputed opponent, winning on points but bringing more important evidence. Yes, there were still times when a defeat DeGale was able to reveal the harshness of Eubank's technique. But this time, the challenger at least arrived with a game plan, effectively countering and fighting behind his shot, so clearly in mind from the moment he sent DeGale point-blank in the ropes in the second round.

The former world super middleweight champion survived the count, but he touched the canvas again in the tenth place, after which he was far behind on the three scorecards of the judges. In the end, Eubank had to call for a unanimous points decision, with scores of 114-112, 115-112 and 117-109.

"It was the most important fight of my career and I made a statement tonight," said Eubank afterwards, while The O2's mockery was slowly but surely turning into overwhelming cheers. "The game plan worked. The things we worked on in the gym worked and I dominated just about every round. I knew that he was going to come here and run so I made sure I worked a lot on my jab.

Victory gives Eubank some great options at home and abroad, and DeGale apparently has nowhere to go. A true ghost of British boxing, he had to find a last resurrection that escaped him. Beaten and bruised in a corner of the ring while Eubank's slap was posted and smoothed, DeGale was obliged to keep his solemn promise before the fight.

Where was he?

"I'm pretty sure that's it," he says, clumsily standing next to Eubank. "I know that if I call it a day, I left my mark in boxing. So I have to look back because I have not done enough. I will go back and talk to my team. "

The first round of this fight can still give him the confidence to continue. His surgically repaired right arm took the first significant stroke of the fight: a short, stiff strike that crashed into Eubank's chin, a feat he repeated moments later. Eubank's right eye started to blush almost instantly and it sagged, rather than sarcastically, in its corner on the bell.

The success of DeGale was not going to last. His first moment of misfortune in an exciting second round was to hit heads with Eubank, who clearly disoriented him. His second was to walk straight on a huge right hand that sent him back into the ropes, slipping footwork and hitting a previous round reduced to an unseemly and neglected mess.

Feeling the murder, Eubank headed forward, another wave of violence forcing the referee to dive and momentarily stop the slaughter, DeGale's mouth open like a drunkard at the bar. But he had to survive the count and the round, before being immediately shaken by another hook at the start of the third.

To his great credit, DeGale dug, perhaps even shading the seventh round with a tight left center that briefly interrupted Eubank's continuous and blind march. He then followed by changing posture and unloading a group of punches, but for Eubank to reaffirm his position and be ready to end the fight with a vicious gust at the end of the eighth goal, DeGale's impulse was once again undermined. It was as if Sisyphus, having finally rolled this blessed rock to the top of the hill, had gone back to find a new one waiting for him in his place.

DeGale had to come down to the tenth, caught a vicious left hook that saw him running down the canvas like water poured out of a glass, each bone of his body becoming horribly soft. The fact that he stood up and survived two more and more shredded sleeves testifies to his tireless determination: few complaints would have been filed had the competition been stopped.

While he was gathering his confused thoughts afterwards, DeGale seemed to want to convince himself that the time had come to call him one day. "I went to the boxing summit," he insisted. "I've won an Olympic gold medal, won the world title twice, made history and fought the best in the world, left my mark in boxing. "

What he has. George Foreman has already pointed out that "the question is not at what age do I want to retire? DeGale has his Olympic gold medal. He has his world title wins. And he has his health and his millions. After that, it would be wise to stay away.

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