Southern Area welterweight boxing champion Gavin Tait has delayed his return to the ring after admitting preparations had not been right.

Tait (pictured) was pencilled in to fight at The Troxy in east London on Friday night as a warm-up to his title defence but work commitments have curtailed his hopes of getting back to action.

The Sheerness fighter said: "I had to pull myself out as I haven’t had the time to do enough work in the gym. There just haven’t been enough hours in the day.

"I could have taken the fight on and gone through the motions. I have already said to myself that if I fight and lose fairly then no problems but I wouldn’t want to be beaten by someone who I am physically better than just because I am not fit.

"Boxing is a dangerous sport and I could go in there and get properly hurt if I don’t prepare properly."

Tait beat Chas Symonds in September to claim the welterweight title.

The 35-year-old is hoping to devote more time to training in the near future and could possibly get back in action on April 20, in a yet-to-be-confirmed clash against highly-ranked southpaw Michael Lomax.

Chingford-based Lomax, who fought and lost to Kell Brook for the British title in 2009, is the mandatory challenger to Tait’s southern area title.