Boxer Adrian Roach has been eliminated from the Brampton Cup after suffering a narrow defeat in the semi-final.

Fighting in the male elite 71kg division, Roach lost his bout, which took place over three three-minute rounds, by two rounds to one against his old adversary Josh Melvin in Ontario, Canada.

Roach had beaten Melvin two years earlier but this was the Bermudian’s first fight in a number of months and he was left disappointed with the result.

“I’m very upset that it didn’t go my way,” Roach said.

“We felt that we executed our gameplan and it was a really close decision,” Roach said.

“We got word that the other corner even thought we had taken it at the end over the three rounds. However, that’s not how the judges saw it.

“I can’t really complain as I put my best foot forward and executed my gameplan for the majority of the fight. I thought I landed the cleaner blows, even reviewing the match I though I’d landed the cleaner blows, but I’m not the people outside the ring scoring the bouts.

“I can’t take it to heart, so I’ll come back better and hopefully if we get a rematch I can beat him and prove that the skill level is truly different.

“We believe that we should have taken the victory but other than that it’s back to the drawing board. No excuses, just be better.”

In a revealing interview with The Royal Gazette this week, Roach revealed that he had contemplated quitting the sport following the death of his grandfather, Eugene “Vic” Ball.

“Boxing isn’t a sport you can play around with and so it was important to take a break,” Roach said

“Having that time away was the right thing to do and having been back a little while, I’ve fallen back in love with the sport.”

Roach’s conqueror Melvin moves on to the final to take on Eli Serada, with the bout scheduled for Sunday afternoon.