Matty Fagan has revenge on his mind after losing his unbeaten professional record.
Ellesmere Port lightweight Fagan won his first six bouts in the paid ranks and had been expected to extend that sequence when he took on Andrejs Podusovs last month.
His training partner Paul Butler headlined the ECHO Arena show with a ruthless win over Mexican Ismael Garnica but the night turned sour for Fagan.
He struggled throughout against his rugged Kirkcaldy-based Latvian opponent and needed five stitches in a cut before the referee scored the fight 58-57 in Podusovs’ favour.
Fagan had no complaints with the result but told the Pioneer something was wrong with him on the night and thinks the late ring time might explain his lacklustre performance.
Fagan plans to return to the ring on the undercard of the IBF world super-flyweight title showdown between Butler and Zolani Tete, planned for February in Liverpool.
He then hopes to avenge his defeat to Podusovs in a hometown show at the EPIC Leisure Centre in May.
Fagan said: “I was disappointed and I knew the fight was close but I couldn’t really complain about the decision.
“I felt great going to the ring but as soon as I got in there I didn’t feel right and I was fatigued.
“I’m not sure what happened but I got to the arena at 6pm but it was 12.45am when I left the ring.
“I wasn’t able to get my boxing going and I ended up slugging it out with him and got a cut from him putting his head in.
“It’s never happened to me before and it’s not an excuse but that’s how I felt and it’s up to me to make sure it doesn’t happen again.
“I am going to be out again in February when Paul has his world title fight and if everything goes to plan then I’ll be headlining the EPIC in May, hopefully against the lad who beat me.
“It’s not the biggest venue but if you put a thousand people in there then that will make some noise and every man and his dog will be there.”
Chester-born Fagan had an excellent amateur career with Vauxhall Motors ABC, losing only a handful of his 85 contests.
He followed Butler when he turned professional in 2012 under Failsworth-based trainer Anthony ‘Arnie’ Farnell and had recorded six straight points victories before his defeat to Podusovs.
Fagan said: “I’ve been back in the gym for a couple of weeks and I’m doing a lot of work on my boxing.
“I couldn’t get my shots off in the last fight and he was putting his head all over me but if I can get the boxing going then he won’t be able to do that next time.”
