Wayne Alexander is refusing to retire from boxing after his shock first-round defeat to Frenchman Serge Vigne at the ExCel Arena on Saturday.

Referee Bob Williams stopped the fight towards the end of the first-round, believing Alexander was unfit to continue having already been put down on the canvas inside the opening minute and later forced on to the ropes.

Despite the setback, Alexander is refusing to throw in the towel and is adament he can still fulfil his dream of winning one of the three major light-middleweight world title belts.

"I am not finished," said Alexander.

"I will come back and win the British title in six months, then become a world champion again."

Vigne was a late replacement on the fight card but Alexander was still expected to beat the French champion and pave the way for a fight against Ukrainian European champion Sergei Dzindziruk in Germany next year.

But Alexander admitted his attitude was all wrong once the bell sounded, which led to his downfall.

"I was too confident and too relaxed. I went into the ring thinking I was going to knock him out," he said.

"It's the first time I have ever lost a fight in the first round. I'm truly sick as a parrot."

Vigne caught Alexander with a left hook in the opening minute which sent the Croydon fighter to the floor. He survived the count to resume the fight and matched the Frenchman blow for blow.

As he tried to finish him off and go for a knockout, Vigne responded with a series of blows, forcing Alexander onto the ropes. This led to referee Williams stopping the fight - much to the disbelief of Alexander.

"I felt I was alright to continue," he said. "I got up after I hit the floor and carried on. Why didn't he just stop me then?"

Alexander revealed he will be speaking to promoter Frank Warren this week to discuss his next move and plan to win back his WBU title he lost on Saturday. But he did admit he would consider retiring if there was a repeat of Saturday's disappointment.

"Another two wins and I will be back up there again," he said. "But If I have another fight like that, I will quit."

After only his third defeat of his career, Alexander is looking on the positive side and feels he will have no trouble in finding suitable opponents next year.

The Croydon fighter has only had three fights in two years, but he expects younger fighters will now fancy their chances against him.

"When you get a defeat, a lot of people who didn't want to fight you two months ago come out of the woodwork and want to fight you," he added.

"They will think I'm on my way down and I will be a big name on their record if they beat me - but that's not going to happen."

And to all his knockers and critics - Alexander has this message.

"To all the people that have written me off, I am laughing already. I have been down before and I will be up again."