Title heartbreak for Stan

Harby boxer Stan SSS Stannard was left disappointed he he lost for the second fight in succession

Stannard, nicknamed SSS, was hoping to bounce back from the first defeat of his career against Lee Cutler last May as he took on Nuneaton's Ashlee Eale for the Midlands Area super welterweight title.

But it was to be a second successive night of disappointment as the 27-year-old lost on points, with referee Kevin Parker handing the 'King of the Midlands' title to Eale by a narrow 96-95 margin.

It means that after 10 straight wins to start his professional career, southpaw Stannard is now facing something of a rebuild after two defeats on the spin.

Stannard's father Adrian was left disappointed by the result, but also admitted his man had probably failed to do himself justice.

"Eales got his tactics right on the night, as set out to stop Stan hitting him, and although he knocked him a couple of times he didn't follow it up quick enough," said Stannard Snr.

"I thought it was a draw to be honest, but he got the decision, although it was disappointing that in a fight of that magnitude that it was the referee scoring it rather than judges.

"But it is what it is, Stan didn't do enough. He apologised afterwards to all of his fans, feeling he had let them down, and he was unhappy with his performance. But he can't go back and change it."

So what's next for Stannard?

"He is going to have a bit of time off," said his father. "But there are other things going on behind the scenes.

"One of his stable-mates says that in the gym nobody can live with Stan, with his speed and power, but he just didn't deliver that. At the moment he is disappointed and trying to figure out why he didn't perform.”

FOOTBALL: Melton Town will be aiming to keep their play-off push on course as they travel to struggling Wisbech Town on Saturday.

Last Saturday's scheduled clash was postponed due to a waterlogged pitch, with Melton set to return to action on Wednesday night with a home date against seventh-placed Deeping Rangers.

Melton went into that game sitting in the final play-off place in fifth, with a three-point advantage over sixth-placed Eastwood.