Morden’s Lee Cook was a relieved man after climbing off the canvas to beat Mark McCullough at Bethnal Green last weekend.

Lightweight Cook, the Southern Area title holder, took on the clash as a way to keep busy before his scheduled title defence in September.

But the 27-year-old, who earned a 58-56 verdict from the referee, admitted he was close to coming unstuck.

Cook said: “He was a lot harder than I thought.

“I did not know much about him and he really came out swinging in the first round and put me down.

“He really tried to finish me off and I just had to hang on.

“But once I cleared my head and started to box him I won every round.

“It was a really tough fight.

“It was a win, but not a great win, and I am relieved to have come through unscathed.”

Cook took the fight against the Irish opponent against the wishes of his management, and the Morden fighter admitted defeat could have spelled curtains for his career.

He added: “If I would have lost I would have been in real trouble as I probably would not have been able to defend my title.

“Now I’m boxing well I really wanted to stay busy, but I will probably be a bit more careful in the future.”

The lightweight will now look forward to a September date against an as-yet unnamed opponent.

And Cook reckons the future looks bright having survived this ordeal.

He added: “I can really look forward now.

“I want title bouts - I want to defend my Southern Area belt and then go for better titles and I just have to keep on winning.

“Now I’ll get back in the gym and start preparing for September, so things are moving nicely.”