Dean Francis believes he is fighting for his boxing future at next week's Prizefighter tournament.
Francis hopes to prove himself at Earls Court
Dean Francis believes he is fighting for his boxing future at next week's Prizefighter tournament.
Francis, 35, is one of eight cruiserweights competing in the next phase of Barry Hearn's hugely popular Prizefighter Series on Tuesday, May 19.
The event, which will be screened live on
Sky Sports, comes from Earls Court in London and Francis, an ex-European Champion at super-middleweight and former British and Commonwealth title holder at light-heavyweight, insists he will quit the sport if he underperforms.
"If I don't win this I will retire," said Francis.
"After my last fight (a shock draw against unheralded Joey Vegas in February) I thought that if I didn't start doing things properly then I've got to retire.
"This is a hard sport and not easy having a fight like I had last time and then coming back from that. In my last outing I was terrible and I feel I have to prove myself again but it's not unusual as I'm always having to prove myself.
"I was overweight and way too heavy so this time I've been in the gym losing weight and I'm a stone and a half lighter. The criticism was inevitable and I gave myself criticism as it was a disgusting fight.
"If I don't do well in Prizefighter I will retire as there will be nowhere for me to go. But I expect to take home the prize money then fight for the British title then fight for a world title.
"What tells me I'm still good enough to win a world title is that in training people are stopping and standing around watching me."
Francis, who hails from Basingstoke but trains in Finchley, will pick up £25,000 if he wins Prizefighter and the event promises to be the best yet with a host of big names from the cruiserweight division.
Four quarter-finals, two semi-finals and a final will all take place inside a frenetic three-hour period on Tuesday, May 19.
The draw will be made on Thursday.
