My fight with Mark Taft ended in a draw

AS I write this final blog posting, I am sitting up in bed at the Hotel de France, the morning after the night before.

Across from the end of the bed is a mirror and all I can see staring back at me is my own face with two black eyes. Okay, they are not huge shiners, but they hurt. At least my nose has finally stopped bleeding.

But despite the pain in my face – each time my heart beats my entire face seems to throb – I am buzzing and my feet haven’t touched the ground yet. My opponent Mark Taft (who was sporting a black eye the size of a tangerine last night – sorry mate!) and I were the first out and the crowd went berserk.

It was very difficult to make sure I soaked up the atmosphere of this once in a lifetime experience because at the same time I had to try and stay focused on the fact that I was about to start a fight in front of 600 people.

Once the adrenalin started pumping, with the crowd chanting, it was tough trying to remember everything we had been taught – all of the different combinations and blocking techniques.

As the bell went, I wanted to make sure that I got the first punch in – which I did. But it was pretty scrappy as we tried our best not to let the occasion get the better of us. However, in the second round Mark caught me with a beauty of an upper cut, which caused my nose to burst open. It came from nowhere and literally made me deaf for a few seconds. I still wince when I see it on the video.

After that, I decided the best form of defence would be attack, so I then channelled all my energy into bursts of rapid punching. This seemed to work, but it meant I dropped my guard and therefore took a few more blows to the face than I should have done. All that said, it was a wonderful, tiring, but thoroughly enjoyable experience and I would recommend it to anyone.

Am I going to keep the training up? Too right I am. I’ve lost over a stone and I am as fit as I was when I was 18 years old. Would I fight again? I suppose it depends on the size of the purse!

I can’t sign off without saying thank you to a few people. Firstly, I must thank all my colleagues at the JEP for putting up with over the past ten weeks and for their support in sponsoring me for an excellent cause which is all close to our hearts.

I must thank everyone who left their messages of support on my last posting before my fight and thank my family and friends who cheered me on when I was in the ring. I could hear them all the way and they helped me find that last ounce of energy from the depth of my boots.

I also have to thank Ben Murray, his dad Allan, Tony (for his advice on how to open the fight – sorry Tafy, your bad eye is his fault!) and all the other coaches at South Hill gym. It has been an amazing experience and something to tell the grandkids about one day!

And without doubt, my biggest thank you has to go to Elaine Byrne, my gorgeous fiancée, who has had to put up with me talking, sleeping and eating boxing over the past ten weeks when I should have been helping to plan our wedding, which is in two weeks! She was a nervous wreck last night, but coped really well and cheered me on all the way.

• News report and picture gallery: Click here