Matty Tew wants to fight on despite his seventh round stoppage at the O2 Arena.

The Southampton boxer was stopped by Tommy Martin in his English light welterweight title eliminator in London, but it has only whetted his appetite.

At 31, Tew could be forgiven for considering his options, but he has no intentions of stopping knowing that after his brave performance opportunities might well come his way, albeit they could be short notice and against hot prospects.

Tew’s trainer, Wayne Batten, said: “I’m proud of him. He put in a brave performance but we came up just a bit short.

“Matty should be proud of what he has achieved – he has fought at the O2 Arena on a massive show on the undercard of possibly the next heavyweight world champion and that’s incredible.

“He deserves to have done that for his commitment and his brave attitude.

“He definitely hurt Tommy Martin, he was a nice kid and said he felt that body shot afterwards, but in the end the stoppage came and we had to accept it.

“I feel that five weeks just wasn’t quite long enough to prepare for Matty. He is desperate to continue in the sport. I have had a chat with him and will sit down for a longer talk soon because he needs to make sure he stays in great shape.

“I think he will get opportunities if he wants them. The promoters were so impressed with his heart and commitment they were already talking about possibly a fight for the Southern Area title.

“But for that, in my opinion, Matty needs to stay in shape to grab these opportunities.

“In the five weeks we had he gave it everything, and on the day as well.

“You know with Matty he will give it absolutely everything he has got, he never lets anyone down, but especially coming up to 32 he needs to stay ready to fight and not just when he has a date.

“Right now though all I can say is what I feel about Matty and that is that I’m really proud of him.”

Next up for Tew will be supporting his stablemates at a show at Fleming Park in Eastleigh on Saturday night.

Light heavyweight Tony Hill is making his return to the ring after a hugely unfortunate cut last time out, while local boy Rich O’Connor is also in action as well as a debut from Rich Walker.

Matty Legg, Wade Armour and Jake Gosling are also set to fight.

Tickets for the Silverlake-sponsored show are available on 07753 128759.