SHATTERED Suffolk golden boy boxer David Starie declared today: "I was abysmal and I can't put my finger on it. I felt shot to bits."The former amateur from the Hurstlea-Kerridge Club of Needham Market, continued: "From the fourth round I was flat to the boards.

By Dave Allard

SHATTERED Suffolk golden boy boxer David Starie declared today: "I was abysmal and I can't put my finger on it. I felt shot to bits."

The former amateur from the Hurstlea-Kerridge Club of Needham Market, continued: "From the fourth round I was flat to the boards. I had nothing in the tank."

The ex-British super-middleweight title holder and world challenger should have comfortably beaten South African champion Andre Thysse in Carnival City on Saturday night in front of a worldwide Sky Sports television audience.

He lost his Commonwealth crown on a points decision after being knocked down twice in the 12 rounds.

Starie continued: "I got to the corner at the end of the fourth round and told my manager Gordon Holmes that I'd had it. I felt mentally and physically drained.

"Never before have I ran out of energy like that, but I just kept going as best I could and didn't do myself justice at all. I had it in me to beat him, but just couldn't find the energy to do it."

Altitude has been cited as a possible reason for the shock defeat of a world ranked fighter confidently expected to gain a comfortable win over Thysse and set himself up for another global crack of some sort.

However Starie said: "I'm an honest man and won't necessarily put that down as the reason. It was a 12-round fight and in my training over in South Africa I've been doing good 12-round training sessions. On the night it just didn't happen. I couldn't do what I know I was capable of doing."

The big question in British professional boxing now is: "Where does David Starie go from here?"

The 28-year-old, who relinquished his British crown in order to concentrate more on world title options, continued: "I'm not going to do a Nigel Benn and quit in the ring, then come back soon after. I'm not a quitter, but what I'll do now is sit down with my wife and family to discuss the situation.

"I'll also be taking stock with my manager Gordon Holmes to look into the reasons why I may have given a display like this.

"It could be the fact that I got down to 12 stone weight limit earlier than usual or something like that. It's hard to put your finger on it. All I know is that I had nothing in my body to give after that fourth round. I felt shot to bits. My legs went. Just a straightforward punch would put me all over the place."

This defeat, only the third of a long career, looks a daunting one for the one-time double ABA champion regarded as one of the most technically equipped ring competitors in Europe.

Starie, who lives with his wife Louise and two children at Elmswell, said: "For ages I've been on the verge of another world title fight with people fighting shy of me because of my reputation. Now, after this defeat it may be possible to get in there somewhere and challenge."