BOLTON boxer Jack Cullen says he is already over the first defeat of his career.

The Little Lever fighter is preparing for his next outing at Manchester's Victoria Warehouse on May 5 – his first since losing to Irishman Roy Sheahan in the first round of the final of the Irish Last Man Standing tournament last month.

That defeat was full of mitigation as the event featured three fights on the night with the boxers having different amounts of time to rest in between.

The 24-year-old had much less rest between his semi-final and the final than home boxer Sheahan.

Middleweight Cullen – who is nicknamed Little Lever Meat Cleaver – took up the invite a week after an impressive ninth straight victory as a professional against Alistair Warren at the Bolton Whites Hotel, which he won with a fourth-round knockout.

And the local fighter, who has a great support from Little Lever where he and his family have all grown up, says the defeat the following weekend will not affect him when he next steps out on May 5.

“I got about eight minutes’ rest and they wanted to throw me straight back in there," he said.

“I was just like ‘sack it, I’ll just get in there’. It wasn’t good for me, having to do that, but it was good experience. I got the invitation right after winning the Challenge Belt so I’d only had a week to prepare.

“I’m not worried about it one little bit to be honest. I’ve got it out of my head, it’s over with. I think if I’d have fought him in the first round when I was fresh I would have won.”

Despite the defeat – his first since turning professional in October 2016 – Cullen took home prize money of €5,000 plus €1,000 for his amateur gym, and is now getting ready to fight at the Victoria Warehouse on the same bill as fellow Bolton middleweight prospect Jack Flatley.

Cullen said: “Training is going well, I had a week off and then got straight back in the gym. I’m feeling good and feeling strong.

I’ve gone back to square one. I’m practising a lot of different stuff and I’m getting myself fit again. I just want a good performance.”

Tickets for the fight at the Victoria Warehouse are are available, starting at £35.