THE final seconds before action are among the most intense imaginable for any boxer.

But rather than focus fully on the violence his opponent Simeon Cover wanted to inflict upon him, Southampton's world champion Matthew Barney found himself engaged in an argument over his ring return after 11 months inactivity.

Barney had wanted a ten-round fight if possible, but had eventually agreed to six.

Yet, just as he began his entrance on Friday night, he was told that it would be just four.

A fighter who is at his best over the longer distances, Barney was furious.

His concentration had been broken and although he was a winner on points, it was a poor display against a journeyman opponent.

Indeed, to be brutally honest, most of the crowd packed inside the Wembley Arena were probably grateful that it was only four rounds.

Neither boxer landed a punch of genuine note during the 12 minutes of action. Worksop's Cover stalked Barney continuously, but was unable to land a glove on the WBU world light-heavyweight champion.

For his part, Barney was extremely cautious throughout and content to win each round of this non-title bout with the occasional, flicking left jab.

The 30-year-old admitted he had not been at his best, but said he had been unsettled by the late change to the length of the fight.

"I was arguing at the time I was supposed to be going out to fight," said Barney.

"They only told me it had been changed to four rounds as I was walking to the ring.

"I was stupid to let it affect me, and for the first couple of rounds I didn't really do anything.

"I improved as the fight went on, but it is was such a short fight you have to be careful. I was just concentrating on winning rather than looking good."

At his most effective countering mistakes, Barney does tend to perform better against top opposition as he proved when out-pointing Dean Francis for the British super-middleweight title and Tony Oakey for the WBU light-heavyweight crown.

But at Wembley a weakness of not being able to pressure and break down even a limited operator such as Cover was evident.

Barney, though, was keen to take some positives from the fight after such a long absence from competitive action.

And with some justification, he also predicted that the pressure of his next fight - for the European title against the highly-rated German Thomas Ulrich - will help him produce a far superior display.

He added: "It wasn't the best fight. He didn't come to fight, but it was important for me to get out there and get some rounds under my belt in front of a crowd.

"I needed it and it has helped my preparation for the Ulrich fight. I'm going to take a few days off and then I have got five weeks to train.

"I had this next fight in my mind a little bit and I will be a lot better then. Ulrich will be the best opponent I have ever faced and he will bring out the best in me."

Barney will need to be right.

Far more will be needed against someone of Ulrich's pedigree - especially in the German's own back yard.