James DeGale increased his hopes of a super-middleweight world title fight with a points victory at Bluewater on Saturday.

The Brit beat American Dyah Davis with a unanimous points decision in what was his third showing in Kent.

DeGale is looking to get back in the mix at the highest level, having now won seven fights since his 2011 defeat to his rival George Groves.

His fans weren’t able to see a knock-out punch at the Glow venue, part of Kent’s biggest shopping centre, but he comfortable got the decisions - winning 118-110 on the three scorecards.

“I’m not fully pleased and I was a bit lazy,” admitted DeGale, following his 17th professional win.

“I switched off a couple of times and got hit by a stupid shot,” said the 2008 Olympic champion.

That shot, in the eighth round, left him with a bloody nose but he recovered well to avoid any more dramas.

“It’s another 12 rounds under my belt and I’m still learning,” said the 27-year-old.

On the same show, Swanley’s light heavyweight Leon Senior suffered only his second professional loss, at the hands of Derby’s Arfan Iqbal.

Senior - who beat Dan Woodgate recently to clinch the Southern Area title - was down three times in the bout and Gillingham referee Ian John-Lewis eventually waved it off in the sixth round.