WORLD champion boxer Matthew Barney has split from manager Eugene Maloney.

Southampton's WBU light-heavyweight champion is unhappy with the way his career has gone since he took the world title from Portsmouth's Tony Oakey last October.

Barney was forced to vacate his British super-middleweight title so that he could keep the light-heavyweight crown, but has been frustrated by delays landing his next fight.

He had hoped to defend his title against Oakey in a rematch in Cardiff last month, but that fell through after news broke that Pompey's former world champion had been suspended pending a hearing after traces of a recreational drug were found in his system during a drug test.

Barney says he now wishes he had kept his British title and gone ahead with a previous plan to fight Adrian Dodson.

Although his career went from strength to strength under Maloney, with fights for the British, Commonwealth and World titles, Barney feels things have stalled in recent months and that the time has come to move on.

He said: "I'm looking for a manager now, but I don't really know what is going to happen. I want to defend my title as soon as possible, but if I can't box Oakey, I'm not sure what other fights are out there for me.

"I'll fight anyone and I just want to get back into the ring again."