There was nothing to separate James DeGale and Badou Jack after their world super-middleweight title unification fight on Saturday night at the Barclays Center in New York, which ended in a majority draw which meant the world’s two best 168lb fighters retained their belts. But while an immediate rematch to settle unfinished business would seem the obvious next step, what is next for either man appears uncertain.
DeGale, who holds the IBF’s version of the title, scored a flash knockdown in the first and boxed masterfully in the early rounds, using balletic footwork to create angles that made Jack look flat-footed and clumsy. But Jack, the WBC title-holder, showed patience and poise to rally in the middle stages. He started to walk through the DeGale punches, hurting him with punishing body shots in the sixth and knocking a tooth from his mouth in the eighth.
As the outcome hung in the balance in the final round, Jack nearly closed the show when he dumped DeGale to the canvas for the first time in his career with a counter right uppercut. The Olympic gold medallist made it to his feet and showed immense heart to make it to the final bell. The drama of the final reel was laid bare on the cards: were it not for the late knockdown, all three judges would have given the fight to DeGale.
It was a thrilling affair that enthralled the crowd of 10,128 on a snowy night in Brooklyn, a matchup between top operators that featured everything but a decisive result. Both men articulated interest in a rematch in the immediate aftermath. So it would seem a simple choice to put them in with one another once more.  But this is boxing, where nothing is simple.    
First, there’s the matter of weight. Jack, who has had trouble making the super-middleweight limit, had already planned on moving to light heavyweight after Saturday’s fight. A rematch would likely have to take place at 175lbs or a catch-weight, which could give the smaller DeGale pause. Then, there is the matter of venue. Saturday’s fight marked DeGale’s fourth straight bout on foreign soil, a run that’s included his title-clinching win over Andre Dirrell in Boston and successful defences against Lucian Bute and Rogelio Medina.
He has been itching to fight in the UK, where his domestic profile has slipped even as his stature in the sport has redoubled, and spoke all week about an outdoor homecoming fight in the spring at the Emirates Stadium, home of his beloved Arsenal. His post-fight plea to “do it again in London” could fall on deaf ears. Another option is Callum Smith, the youngest of the fighting Smith brothers of Merseyside, who is undefeated in 22 fights. That option would have become a foregone conclusion if DeGale had won on Saturday since Smith is the WBC’s mandatory challenger. But should Jack vacate the WBC title and climb to light heavyweight, then Smith will likely fight Anthony Dirrell for the vacant belt.
A third choice and perhaps the biggest fight in Britain would be George Groves, the man responsible for the lone blemish on DeGale’s professional ledger, a disputed points decision in 2011. DeGale has been eager to avenge that result for years, but Groves is in negotiations to fight Fedor Chudinov for the vacant WBA title, further complicating matters.
The fighters had not even left the ring on Saturday when Floyd Mayweather Jr, who promotes Jack, gatecrashed the televised interview with the fighters to gripe about the decision. “At the end of the day, this is really bad for boxing,” said Mayweather, on the best night this beleaguered sport has seen in some time. The former pound-for-pound king was even more bellicose at the post-match press conference, offering cryptic allusions to the incompetence and even outright corruption of the judges with repeated invocation of that famous Trumpism: “There’s something going on.”
“The thing with boxing is, if they can’t get it right the first time, they’re not going to get it right the second time,” Mayweather said. “We don’t need the second time around.”
Mayweather might not need it, but what worked for him might not be in the best interests of either fighter. Boxing needs great fights and DeGale and Jack showed what can happen when the best fight the best. They owe it to themselves to finish what they started. If only the sport would get out of the way long enough to let it happen.