Streatham’s Chris Bourke keen to rebuild after losing British title challenge

Chris Bourke has vowed to bounce back from his failed attempt to win the British super-bantamweight title.

The 27-year-old Streatham southpaw tasted defeat for the first time as he was outpointed by Salford’s Marc Leach at Bethnal Green’s York Hall last weekend.

Bourke (10-1, six KOs) revealed afterwards that he had broken his left hand in the third round.

And the South Londoner also suffered fresh damage to his nose, which had been broken during sparring in the lead up to the bout.

“I felt my hand go in the third round and every time I threw it after that I got an electric shock go up my arm,” said Bourke, a big Millwall fan. “It was an uphill battle from then.

“I damaged my nose in the training camp and I think it just happened again. I was hungry for the fight and didn’t want to postpone it. I knew if it went again that I’d be able to fight through that.

“I don’t want to make excuses but my left hand is my big shot. The game plan was to get that shot in and obviously I couldn’t. It is going to play a part if you can’t do that.

“I’m going to get another X-ray when the swelling goes down. I’m going to have a little break, some time out of the gym, but as soon as I can punch again I will.

“I’ll leave it to my team to decide what I do next. Obviously I’d like to right this wrong at some point but I just have to rebuild and get back to it.

“He was very fit. I thought he’d start tiring but he managed to keep it up.

“There are a lot of people who wouldn’t be able to box nine rounds with a broken hand and still be able to push, to try to win. It shows I’ve got that heart that a lot of fighters don’t have. It’s just one of those unlucky things, I’ve got to just crack on.

“Maybe looking back I could have tried to use my boxing ability more, rather than having a tear up.”

Leach won the vacant title with a unanimous verdict – 117-111, 116-113 and 116-112.