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Watson plots his return following Petrucci defeat

12/ 3/2008

OLDHAM boxer Craig Watson has spoken of his disappointment after losing his EBU welterweight title fight against Daniele Petrucci last weekend.

He was beaten in Rome when the referee stopped the contest in the third round, much to Watson’s upset.

Watson said: "I feel like I didn’t box the way I could. They kept us waiting to get into the ring for ages and I had to shadow box to keep warm, it was madness.

"All my game plan went out of the window. I planted my feet instead of moving them around.

"I got up after he caught me and I was alright. In the third round I took the fight to him but I think the ref stopped it too early."

Watson’s trainer Joe Pennington added: "It didn’t go according to plan. He got caught with a big left hook at the end of the second round and went onto the ropes, but he didn’t go down though.

"When he got caught it changed the fight, he got caught again in the third and the referee stopped it.

"I thought he was getting bullied a little bit and didn’t execute our plan properly.

"Perhaps he was a bit over-confident, but he’s only really a novice and will learn from this.

"He has a 28-day suspension now for being stopped but will be back training on Wednesday."