It is now eight wins from eight professional fights for Miles Shinkwin. The Bushey boxer defeated Mitch Mitchell on points on Saturday but admitted “it didn’t really feel like a fight”.

The 25-year-old light-heavyweight, who trains at Pro SW Gym in Loughton, only took the bout in order to get rounds under his belt ahead of his Southern Area title contest against Joel McIntyre in July.

Mitchell is a durable opponent but there was little threat of Shinkwin’s unbeaten record ending at York Hall.

He controlled the opening three rounds before a clash of heads rattled the former Bushey Boxing Club fighter. However, Shinkwin regained his composure and was comfortably awarded the victory on points.

He said: “I didn’t have to take the fight. The idea was for me to get in some rounds under my belt ahead of the fight in July.

“To be honest though, it didn’t really feel like a fight. I didn’t have to diet beforehand or anything like that and when I fought, it was still daylight. So the whole thing was a little bit surreal.”

He continued: “I knocked him down three times and I am a little bit disappointed that I wasn’t able to stop him at that point.

“But the fight was for me to get time in the ring so it wouldn’t have really been beneficial for me to knock him out.

“The first three rounds went perfectly for me but in the fourth, we clashed heads and I thought I’d cut my head open.

“I did panic a little bit and I kept dabbing at the area. Fortunately though it was fine, I got back to my corner and then pushed on.

“In the fifth round he started to just cover up because, if he’d been stopped, he wouldn’t be able to fight for 28 days. So that was a little frustrating but I dealt easily with it.

“On Saturday, I think I had another 95 per cent to give if I needed to. I didn’t coast but I was always in control.”

Shinkwin returns to York Hall on July 12 to face McIntyre. He has been chasing a shot at the Southern Area title for the better part of a year and is feeling confident. McIntyre has won his 11 bouts since turning professional but Shinkwin believes “if this fight was in his back garden, he still wouldn’t win”.

He added: “I am ready for this. I’ve been waiting a long time for the fight and I could have had it ages ago but for different reasons it didn’t happen.

“He was meant to come and watch me on Saturday but didn’t turn up. I’ve heard some things from his camp that he’s going to stop me in eight rounds – that won’t happen.

“I’m fighting at York Hall again and that is perhaps a little advantage for me and any advantage helps as a boxer.”