Beaten Mark Lloyd vows to come back

Shropshire boxer Mark Lloyd was today plotting his comeback after the sixth defeat of his 21-fight professional career.

The 36-year old, from Shifnal, was stopped in five rounds by undefeated Canadian light-welterweight puncher Pier Olivier Cote in Nottingham on Saturday on the Carl Froch-Lucian Bute undercard.

Lloyd was dropped twice in the fifth of a scheduled eight-rounder and the fight was waved off after Cote unleashed a further salvo of punches with Lloyd against the ropes.

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The Punching Plumber admitted he was disappointed with his latest set-back but will back in the gym today as he aims to claw his way back into contention for major domestic titles.

Lloyd will be unable to fight for a minimum of 28 days because of his stoppage defeat but has already told his manager Errol Johnson he wants to get back in the ring as soon as possible.

Whoever his next opponent is though, it will not be at light-welterweight. Lloyd admitted he had struggled to make the weight for Saturday's bout and he will look to resurrect his career at either welterweight or light-middleweight.

He said: "I am going to stay in the gym, go back up to welter or light-middle and prove people wrong.

"My aim has always been to win a British title and hopefully in the next couple of years I can win it at either weight. I would also love an English title shot and I really think I could beat (current light-middleweight champion) Erick Ochieng. I need to get myself a couple of wins first and I have rung Errol to say get me on again as soon as you can."

Lloyd's latest defeat was his third on the spin – following a narrow points loss to stable-mate Young Mutley in Prizefighter and a controversial technical decision loss to Luciano Abis for the EU welterweight title.

But Lloyd believes he has gained valuable experience from all three and he can build on it in future fights.

"If you look at my opponents, it is not as if I have lost against idiots," he said. "Cote was 18-0 and he was fast but he never hurt me. Jamie Cox (who beat him in eight rounds in April 2009) is the only person who has ever hurt me. Those fights prove that I can fight at a high level."