BoxRec

Let's suppose that James DeGale who is currently the mandatory for the British Super Middleweight title currently held by Paul Smith, fights his amateur rival George Groves for Grove's Commonwealth 12 stone belt and loses, does that mean he automatically loses his status as mandatory challenger for the British title or not as I am under the impression he would lose that status if he lost to Groves should he choose to fight to him.

In theory, you'd assume losing to a compatriot would cost you your mandatory position, but it's not always the case. For some reason the BBBC retained Danny Williams as heavyweight mandatory for Scott Gammer even after he lost to Audley Harrison.