RUBERY heavyweight boxer Mark Regan's adventure in the national stages of the Novice Championships came to an end when he narrowly lost to Sheffield fighter Warren Baister on April 21.

Regan, aged 21, lost to the much taller opponent from Sheffield based club Marley Potts two-rounds-to-one.

He admitted that nerves had got the better of him.

He said: "I don't know what happened to me but I was so tense that I couldn't fight properly.

"It was just a case of nerves which overcame me and it really affected my performance."

Regan, who trains at Ironworks in Selly Oak, went into the quarter-finals in good form after winning the Midlands Counties Novice Championship two weeks before.

He made a fine start to the bout by winning the first round but he struggled against a much taller opponent and was out pointed in the final two rounds.

He said: " People were asking if I needed a ladder to fight Warren and I have to admit he was difficult to handle. If I'd been on my game I definitely had a chance, but it wasn't to be."