Craig Whyatt is making no excuses after his shot at the flyweight Southern Area title ended in defeat.

The Carshalton-born boxer lost to Jamie Speight at the Camden Centre on Friday night after his coach threw in the towel in the eighth of 10 rounds.

It was the first time 24-year-old Whyatt had taken on 10 rounds, and despite insisting he had the opening six rounds in the bag, he admitted to feeling unsteady on weary legs in the eighth and accepted his coach’s decision.

He said: “I was gutted when I saw the towel come in, but my coach is looking out for me and he obviously saw I tired and my legs had gone.

“I could lay down loads of excuses, but in the end my coach made his decision, and I accept that.”

He added: “It’s a shame, because if I’d got through the rounds then I would have won the fight as I was well ahead on points.”

“In the fourth round I caught him with some blinding shots, and I thought I had him but he’s a tricky man and he came through that.

“I went down in the sixth, but I don’t really know how – I felt I was pushed and the referee was giving me a count.

“But in the seventh and eighth, my legs were starting to go and that was that.”

Whyatt, who had dropped a weight category for the bout, will now return to his preferred lightweight as he rebuilds his pro career. We will see where we go from here, but I won’t fight at flyweight again,” he said.

“I’ll go back to six rounds for a while, rebuild and come back stronger.”