DWAYNE LEWIS was so pleased with the form he showed in recent sparring sessions with James DeGale, that he would like the chance of upsetting the Beijing Olympic gold medal hero in a serious contest, writes LEN WHALEY. Canning Town fighter Lewis, a member

DWAYNE LEWIS was so pleased with the form he showed in recent sparring sessions with James DeGale, that he would like the chance of upsetting the Beijing Olympic gold medal hero in a serious contest, writes LEN WHALEY.

Canning Town fighter Lewis, a member of trainer Tony Sims' Hainault gym squad, has won six and drawn one of his pro contests, and featured in sparring sessions with DeGale, who is training under Jim McDonnell in Loughton.

The pair sparred last month when they were both training for fights scheduled on the same night.

However, while DeGale made it three victories in his pro career on the Frank Warren-promoted MEN Arena show on the night when Amir Khan clinched his world title, former Peacock BC amateur Lewis had to withdraw from his scheduled contest on the Hennessy promotion at York Hall.

Former Peacock BC amateur Lewis believes he's the dark horse in the super-middleweight division and while Olympic medallists like DeGale, Tony Jeffries and Darren Sutherland have been grabbing the headlines for their amateur exploits, the confident east London fighter is adamant that he's the best of the emerging 12-stone bunch.

After sparring with the Beijing Gold medallist, Lewis feels that despite his amateur pedigree, Degale still has a lot to learn about the pro game. "I found the sparring with him quite easy," he revealed.

"As far as I'm concerned, he's still an amateur. When you turn professional you need to change your style, and I don't think he's done that yet.

"Everything is different in the pro ranks, including the training and the sparring, and a lot of these amateur stars have to learn that the hard way.

"These Olympians like DeGale are getting all the coverage because they did well in the amateur game and that's fair enough, but people need to realise that amateur boxing and professional boxing are two different sports altogether."

Lewis says he'd be happy to give any of the Olympians a personal introduction into the world of professional boxing.

"I'm on the verge of the British top-10 at the moment and once I've cracked it, some of these Olympians might be ready for a real fight and looking to make some noise.

"I don't have anything to prove against those guys, but if they want it, then I'll be waiting for DeGale or any of the others to show them just how tough the pro game is."

Lewis, however, is very much his own man and is already planning his own route to the top. "I want to have a couple of eight-rounders to get me in the mix for a Southern Area title before the end of the year. Then, all going well, I can start moving through the levels next year."

However, while Lewis versus DeGale would be an attraction for fight fans, it's unlikely that their promoters, Mick Hennessy and Frank Warren, would allow them to meet without a championship on the line.