'Weird feeling' Horndean's Connor Edney had to contend with as welcome ring return does not go exactly to plan

The Horndean-based bantamweight and his 1-19 opponent Stephen Jackson could not be separated on the final scorecard, with Friday's South Parade Pier contest declared a draw.

It was certainly not the result Edney, 26, had desired on what his first bout for nearly three years following on from his debut at the same city venue in October 2019.

After such a long period out of the ring because of the coronavirus pandemic, Edney described the ‘weird feeling’ he experienced during his four-round battle with seasoned campaigner Jackson.

‘I've got to come back and go again now, I think. As much as it's bitter (draw decision), it's bitter-sweet because it's probably the best thing to happen to me,’ explained Edney.

‘If I had won that I probably wouldn't be looking at it the way I am now. It's only going to make me better and improve as a fighter because I can't get the draw out of my head, it's not going to leave me.

‘I'll be back in the gym today, I'm not taking any time-off, if anything that was a warm-up. I didn't show 20 per cent of what I could do. It was almost like I was boxing for the first time again, that's what it felt like, I didn't think the years off would affect me that much but obviously it did.

‘It felt like it was my first time boxing, that's what it felt like, it was a horrible, weird feeling, I did not think I'd get that feeling.’

While Edney was involved in just his second pro contest, Jackson, 28, was taking to the ring for the 21st time as a pro since turning over in 2020.

Edney added: ‘He (Edney's opponent) had all the tricks in the book as well. As soon as I hit him with a good shot he held, as soon as I came close he pulled my head down. He had all the pro tricks in the world, he was clever in there, to be fair.’