By Terence Dooley

Edinburgh’s Stephen "Monster" Simmons (18-3, 7 early) has admitted that he is contemplating retirement following his failure to win the British cruiserweight title against Blackpool-based Matty Askin (23-3-1, 15 KOs) on a David Haye-promoted show at the York Hall on Saturday night.

Dropped and stopped by a body shot in round two, the 33-year-old is now considering his options following the third and most crushing defeat of his career.

“It was a bitter pill to swallow on the night because going in, I was feeling confident and after the first round, I was even more confident,” he said when speaking to Susan Egelstaff of The Herald (Glasgow edition).  “But I think I maybe got a little bit too confident and a bit of complacency maybe set in because I ended up square-on after a left-hook and I got a dink in the solar plexus and it just took all of the wind right out of me.  It was a mistake and these things happen—he won the fight and that's that.

He added: “I thought I was going to make the count but then I heard the referee say eight and I thought, you have to be joking me, that's not eight seconds!  The count felt so, so quick and it wasn't until about a minute later that the pain started to ease.  The doctor came and saw me and I'm fine, although when I stretch up, that part of my body is still a bit tender. 

" I've done a few people with body shots throughout my career and if they catch you right, they're absolutely crippling.  It's easier to recover from a head shot than it is a body shot.  I don't think people who haven't felt it themselves can imagine what it feels like—it's hard to describe quite how sore it is.”

Simmons had also fallen short against Jon Lewis Dickinson and Noel Gevor prior to this loss, with time ticking away and this latest setback fresh in his memory the prospect of building himself back into title contention is not an enticing one. 

He said: “I'll take some time out and spend some time with my family but there's a decent chance I'll end up retiring now.  I'd mentioned it before the fight that it was an option and while I'm not making any official announcement, I'll have a think about things over the next few weeks and see how I'm feeling.”

Please send news and views to @Terryboxing.