SOUTHAMPTON fighter Shane Watson missed out on a mouth-watering showdown with Amir Khan when he was dumped out of the ABA light-welterweight championships at the quarter-final stage.

Watson had his sights set on testing himself against the hottest young prospect in British boxing, but came unstuck against Yorkshire's Chris Serbine.

The Golden Ring boxer had previously taken the Southern Counties title with a dramatic last-minute knock-out win over Portsmouth's Josh Leigh and is now looking for sponsorship to allow him to train full-time.

Watson's defeat completed a frustrating evening for the Southampton contingent.

Golden Ring's Tony Hill had been among the favourites to add the ABA senior middleweight crown to the British and Olympic title he won as a junior.

Like Watson, Hill had landed the Southern Counties last week.

But the 18-year-old was controversially beaten by the experienced Stuart McCoy from Durham, who has had more than 100 fights.

Golden Ring head coach felt Hill had again found himself on the wrong end of a poor decision, believing his man had comfortably done enough to take his place in the quarter-finals.

Anyone interested in sponsoring Watson should contact Gill on 07958277526.