CAMDEN'S Martin Power again failed in his bid to capture the Commonwealth bantamweight title from the impressive South African champion Tshifhiwa Munyai at the Goresbrook Leisure Centre, Dagenham, on Friday night - writes Pat Mooney. The former St Pancras amateur star, who

CAMDEN'S Martin Power again failed in his bid to capture the Commonwealth bantamweight title from the impressive South African champion Tshifhiwa Munyai at the Goresbrook Leisure Centre, Dagenham, on Friday night.

The former St Pancras amateur star, who was pulled out by his corner after nine rounds of their first meeting last summer to save him further punishment, failed to come out for the fifth round after hurting an arm this time.

"For the first two rounds I thought everything was going to plan," Power told Wood&Vale Sport. "Then towards the end of the second round I felt one side of my elbow go which caused me pain in my right bicept.

"I did not think much of it but my trainer Jonny Eames spotted the problem and wanted to pull me out straight away. But I thought I could carry on and asked him for more time.

"However, when I tried to land a punch in the fourth round it hurt even more and when I came back Jonny refused to let me out for the fifth and I was really gutted.

"I don't really know what caused the injury, I could have caught my elbow on his head but it was definitely something that caught it. By the end of fourth it was hurting quite a lot."

Yet, Power had started strongly, taking the fight to the taller champion in the opening round.

The British champion again traded blows with Munyai in the second but towards the end of the round started to ship punishment. It was obvious there was a problem with his right hand.

Although Power continued to score with his jab in the third Muyai stepped up a gear and started to hurt the challenger.

In the fourth round Power fought back as best he could under the handicap but there was only going to be one outcome had he been allowed to continue.

"Munyai deserved his win," said a gracious Power afterwards. "He has improved a lot since the first fight. Obviously, winning the Commonwealth title has boosted his confidence - as does winning any title. He probably felt unbeatable. But I also felt I was a lot better in this fight.

"I brought more to the table this time but my arm gave way on me.

"Perhaps I should have got into him more and thrown more body shots. That was something we had worked on in training.

"But he was just so long and awkward. Yet, after the fight I felt fresh. I could have gone out and fought again but I could not because of my arm."

Power went in to the fight in the best condition of his career. "I felt really good before the fight," he said. "I did everything correctly this time, all my road work and worked with tall sparring partners. Yet, on the night it did not go right at all for me and I suppose it was not meant to be."

pat.mooney@hamhigh.co.uk