Tom Dallas’ comeback ended in defeat after suffering a shock second round knockdown against Croat Igor Mihaljevic on Saturday.

The Chatham heavyweight was heading for a win at the Mote Park show in Maidstone but admits he paid the price for trying too hard to impress.

Dallas was back in the ring for the first time since a knockout defeat to Charles Martin in the WBO NABO heavyweight title fight at Madison Square Garden in New York in April 2015.

Dallas, who topped the bill at the small-hall show, said: “I feel bad about the defeat and it’s a fight I should have won easily. I was winning comfortably but then I got a bit complacent and was trying to please the crowd too much.

“Rather than waiting for a knockdown, I was throwing too many punches, my defence was sloppy and I got caught.”

Dallas, trained by Ray Askew in Sheerness, had floored his Croatian opponent in the first round who was given a standing eight-count by referee Jeff Hinds.

Sensing victory, Dallas went back to work but got caught with a left hook and was wobbled backwards. A barrage of hooks to the head with his feet unsteady was enough for Hinds to jump in and wave the fight off with just four seconds to go in the second round.

Dallas’ immediate thought was about quitting the sport completely but after a few days to recover, he’s ready to give it another shot.

He said: “I felt bad for letting people down. In my head I was going to win and was already planning ahead, which was also a mistake.

“When I went back to the changing rooms I said it might be my last but it’s not going to be. People can criticise me and I accept you have to take the rough with the smooth but some of those have never laced up a glove in their life and they wouldn’t have the bottle, either.

“I’ll take a few weeks out, play a bit of rugby and then see where we go from there.”

Read the full interview in Friday's Medway Messenger