FRENCH cuisine, supposedly the best in the world, won't be high on the list of Ady Lewis' favourite things after Saturday evening's Gallic platter left him with a sour taste in his mouth.

The 'Mighty Atom's' hopes of lifting the European Flyweight title were crushed like a garlic clove as beanpole Frenchman David Guerault proved he was no flash in the pan.

Spanish referee Justo Vazquez called a halt to proceedings at the end of the fourth round after the courageous Lewis had twice been sent crashing to the canvas by the 24-year-old from Dombasle.

It was a bitterly disappointing night for the brave Bury battler and his vociferous army of fans who raised the roof at Bowlers, Trafford Park.

However, there can be no disgrace in losing to an opponent who looked a true world title prospect.

Many thought Guerault may have 'got lucky' in his knockout victory over former title holder Jesper Jensen in June but on the basis of Saturday's display nothing could be further from the truth.

The writing looked on the wall as early as a torrid first round when the Frenchman, an amazing ten inches taller than Lewis, repeatedly found a way through the local man's guard with ramrod lefts.

His awkward southpaw style and six inch reach advantage were cruelly used to maximum effect and he just didn't let Lewis anywhere close enough to deliver the punishing body shots crucial to his game plan.

The Bury man fared better in the second round when he covered up more and utilised his rolling and ducking style to land one or two useful shots of his own.

But whenever he did get close to the champion Guerault displayed a clever ability to roll away off the ropes and out of trouble. The accuracy of the champion's raking lefts and right hand lead repeatedly took their toll in the third round and he began to pick Lewis off before a slip resulted in the challenger going through the ropes just before the bell.

By the fourth, Lewis had a bloodied nose to add to the abrasion below his right eye and, unable to get out of the way of a flurry of punches late in the round, he went down for only the second time in his career.

After a mandatory eight count Guerault smelled victory and another combination sent Lewis sprawling into a corner and Senor Vazquez had seen enough.

Defeat for the first time in fifteen professional fights left Lewis distraught and tears of despair and frustration were in evidence once back in his corner.

But there he received words of encouragement and comfort from trainer and manager Jack Doughty who, after the fight, had nothing but praise for Lewis' gutsy display.

"Ady may be disappointed in himself but we're not disappointed in him," declared the Tara Sports boss.

"We told him that top men like Mike Tyson also got stopped, fighters of every calibre get beaten inside the distance but come back as winners.

"We'd like him to think of the defeat as just one out of fifteen but he's taken it to heart and feels as though he's let himself and everyone down when it's just not the case.

"To say he fought badly would be taking credit away from Guerault who I feel will be a future world champion.

"I don't think we underestimated Guerault, he had obviously done his homework on Ady but we also had on him.

"We saw a video of him when he spreadeagled Jesper Jensen so we knew just what a dangerous opponent he would be, we knew we had to cut out that long reach and get close to him and there were times in the fight when Ady did.

"I said to him at one stage that he needed to pin Guerault on the ropes and pound him but every time he tried to do it the Frenchman rolled away cleverly.

"If the fight had gone on longer Ady might well have got into it more, he needed to discourage Guerault by landing something solid and if he had done who knows what might have happened.

"Obviously we're disappointed with the result but there's no doubt at all that he'll be back," he added.

The best thing Lewis can do now is have a break to take stock according to his manager.

"He's packed a lot in in a short space of time with five big fights in side twelve months, it's not just the fight it's the almost continuous regime of training that takes its toll.

"He needs a good long rest to forget about boxing for a couple of months and we'll see what's in the pipeline then," concluded Doughty.

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