IN spite of his obvious disappointment at losing his prized British featherweight title, Hereford's Darren 'Dazzo' Williams was still optimistic as he contemplated the future.

"'I shall be sitting back to take stock for a couple of weeks," he said. "But I have been told I could get another fight in September and that would be here at the Hereford Leisure Centre.

"If Nicky Cook now gets a shot at a world title he would probably vacate the European, British and Commonwealth titles.

"Should that be the case, although I don't expect to get another shot at the European for a while, I could get a chance at the British and Common-wealth titles.

"I shall just have to see what they are offering."

Williams had found his game plan of sitting back to weather the storm and allow Cook to burn himself out cruelly exposed by the second-round knockout blow.

"As soon as I got hit I knew that was it," said Williams. "There was nothing I could do, the punch was right on the button in the area where there is no muscle to protect you.

"The punch just knocked the wind out of me although within 10 or 15 seconds I was fine again."

The Hereford boxer was quick to praise his army of fans who had made the journey to Dagenham.

"I would like to thank everybody who travelled," he said. "Goresbrook was a much smaller venue than Hereford Leisure Centre and all I could hear was my supporters.

"It's a hard sport, people often do not realise quite how hard, but I'm still smiling and I've got my family around me so everything's fine."