James DeGale beats Dyah Davis to move closer to world title shot

James DeGale (right) and Dyah Davis

Britain's James DeGale moved closer to a super-middleweight world title shot with a unanimous points victory over American Dyah Davis in Kent.

DeGale, 27, won 118-110 on all three cards and has 17 wins from 18 fights.

"I'm not fully pleased. I was a bit lazy and switched off a couple of times," said the 2008 Olympic champion.

The win could earn a title eliminator against Mexico's Marco Antonio Periban, with the winner facing WBC super-middleweight champion Sakio Bika.

"I maybe switched off a bit and got hit by a stupid shot," DeGale, who beat Croatia's Stjepan Bozic in his last fight, told Channel Five.

"It's another 12 rounds under my belt; I'm still learning. He's an awkward opponent."

Londoner DeGale, ranked fifth by the WBC at super-middleweight, challenged his promoter, Mick Hennessy, to deliver a world title shot in the build-up to the fight.

The southpaw, whose only defeat came against George Groves in 2011, shaded the early exchanges, rocking Davis with a left hook midway through round two.

He continued to excel, with a flurry of shots cornering Davis in the fourth, and two spells rattling the 32-year-old again in the fifth.

A bloodied nose in the eighth was a rare moment of concern for DeGale, who steadied himself to easily see out the latter stages.