Rakeem Noble hopes to start new career chapter in Japan after Tommy Coyle defeat

Rakeem Noble plans to relaunch his boxing career in Japan as he is determined to "come back stronger" from defeat against Tommy Coyle.

The 27-year-old super-lightweight has reconsidered his future plans following a third-round stoppage defeat to Coyle in February.

After taking a teaching placement in Japan, Noble is eager to compete in another country, and will seek out a fresh challenge following a planned farewell fight in Bethnal Green next month.

"After the last fight, which was of course a setback, I started to think of different options and paths that I wanted to do in life," Noble told Sky Sports.

"I was offered the opportunity to live in Japan for a year and thought that was absolutely excellent.

"I'm going to be out there for 12 months and hopefully I can have two or three fights. Come back to England, who knows what will await?"

Noble was a few punches away from a career-best victory over Coyle, who bravely fought on with a fractured eye socket, and the Londoner has no regrets about taking the fight.

"I think it was the last shot I caught him with in the first round and he stumbled back to his corner," said Noble. "If that could have been 20 or 30 seconds earlier then who knows, it could have been a different story.

"But it wasn't, he used his experience, he recuperated and put that same pressure back on me. It's one of those things, missed out on glory by 30 seconds.

"Going into the fight, we always knew there was going to be a massive gulf in experience. We wanted to step up, we wanted the opportunity, so we took it.

"It showed me where I stood, it showed I can come back stronger, and can compete with these guys. I just need to get those few little things right on the day. It wasn't mean to be, life goes on."