Mikey Parsons refused to offer any excuses after suffering a unanimous points defeat to Daniel Roach in his professional debut.

At the age of 40, Parsons moved into the paid ranks to face Canadian Roach, but was ultimately made to rue a tentative approach to the opening two rounds, with a late flourish in which the pair went toe-to-toe, proving too little too late as all three judges awarded the fight 36-39 in favour of his opponent.

Despite delighting the sell-out crowd inside the Fairmont Southampton with the standout round of the night, a dejected Parsons was particularly critical of his own performance afterwards, while taking the opportunity to pay full credit to Roach’s approach.

“I take my hat off to Daniel Roach,” said Parsons, who was dropped in the opening round. “He is a tough opponent and did all of the basic things right. I think he won the fight with his jab, combinations and all round timing, his timing was very good.

“I can’t make any excuses. My mindset was there but my legs weren’t. It wasn’t the result I wanted, but any good fighter will take a loss and bounce back, that’s what I’ll do.

“Unfortunately I did the total opposite of what my coach wanted me to do. He wanted me to come out strongly for the first two rounds because he knows I’ve got something in me that I can let loose.

“However, full credit to Daniel, he did what he had to do. He did everything he was supposed to do and I came out on the wrong end of the stick.

“I’m just glad that in the end I gave the people of Bermuda what they thought was a good fight from the reactions and what people have said.

“I’m not so sure, I’d give myself Z-minus because I’m always going to criticise myself.”

Parsons, who has already mooted the possibility of a rematch, even if that means travelling to Canada, is determined to give a better account of himself in his next encounter and make the most of his professional journey, however, fleeting that may prove.

“In my next fight I’d like to think I’ll be one hundred times better,” he said. “Something just wasn’t there and whether or not you’ve got a lot of distractions coming into the fight, when you’re out there with the lights on you have to be switched on.

“You have to be able to block everything out, have tunnel vision and get the job done but unfortunately I did the total opposite.

“I said ahead of the fight that boxing is a lonely sport. When you’re on top everybody is cheering you on but when something like this happens you have that moment to yourself and that’s when it dawns on you, what am I supposed to do now? Do I show my face in front of people?

“That comes with being a fighter, but I’ll try and keep my head high and I thank the Bermuda crowd because, wow, that roar at the end for me was really something.”