PADDY Fitzpatrick admits Sam Smith was handed a harsh lesson in his last fight as he prepares to plot a path to the English Title.

Smith, who trains at Fitzpatick’s Ferndale Road gym, lost for the first time when he came up against Kirk Garvey in a Southern Area Title eliminator earlier this year.

During that fight, Smith made a blistering start which saw him drop Garvey to the canvas, before he was Smith knocked out in the seventh round.

However, despite the defeat, Fitzpatrick believes the light-heavyweight will have matured from the bout.

“Sam hasn’t had bad luck. He had an experience in one fight that he has never had before,” said Fitzpatrick.

“He’s not the biggest puncher in the world and he knows that. He can hit hard enough that you respect him, but he isn’t the hardest hitter.

“In his biggest fight to date, which was the title eliminator he dumps a very good dude in the first round.

“His adrenaline and everything, he wasn’t used to seeing it and he just got emotionally and chemically exhausted.

“He wasn’t used to that. He said after the first round he noticed I put the stool out for him and I never do that after the first round.

“He sat down and told me he felt like he had already fought for eight rounds. He was exhausted because all his adrenaline had dumped and he didn’t know how to control it.”

Now on the comeback trail after beating Darren Snow at York Hall just over a month ago, Fitzpatrick thinks his man’s reputation will be higher than ever.

With all things equal, the Swindon trainer is hoping to keep Smith occupied with a busy summer before launching a bid for the English strap.

“Now he is back in winning ways, he got a win in his last fight and we will get another win in July then he will be 6-1,” he added.

“That will make him higher than where he was at before, so we would be looking at English Title level then.

“He’s a fighting man. No-one likes to lose but Sam would rather lose fighting – he isn’t someone who wants to fight opposition he should be beating.

“He wants to challenge and step outside what he is comfortable with because that is the type of character he is.”