Sam “Sniper” Smith got up off the canvas twice but could not prevent defeat in his Ultimate Boxxer quarter-final at The O2 in London.
In a high quality contest, Smith was knocked down twice by 6ft 6in Shakan Pitters in the second round but got up to finish the fight well.
However, it was not enough to prevent a unanimous points decision loss for the former Pinewood Starr amateur, with the judges scoring the contest 30-25, 29-26, 30-25.
Sniper, 25, was the underdog heading into the light-heavyweight fight with his 5-1 professional record up against the unbeaten Pitters (7-0), who weighed in four pounds heavier than Smith at 12st 8lb 5oz.
And the Birmingham ace started well, catching Smith with a right hand in the opening seconds.
But Sniper responded well with the pair trading blows before a late shot to the head saw the first round end evenly.
However, the contest was decided during an explosive second round. Pitters knocked Smith down just a minute into the stanza with a left and right hand combo to the head.
Sniper got back to his feet, but soon had to take a knee again after a barrage of shots from his 29-year-old opponent.
Not deterred by the knockdowns, Smith responded admirably to end the second round on top, catching tournament favourite Pitters with a powerful jab to give him some hope.
But knowing all he had to do was avoid a knockout blow to clinch victory in the three-round contest, Pitters boxed clever to see out the win to progress into the quarter-finals.
