Hatfield’s Tom Little says he overlooked a shot at the vacant Southern Area heavyweight title to set up a revenge bout with Tom Dallas on Saturday’s Dovebox Promotions’ ‘Knights of Thunder’ show at York Hall.

Almost five years ago, Little was defeated by Kent’s Dallas by technical knockout on Sky Sports’ Prizefighter show in 2012 in a three-round bout at the Bethnal Green venue.

Having failed to wrench the Southern Area crown from Dominic Akinlade in Little’s last fight in August, the natural progression seemed to be another shot at his first-ever silverware but the 29-year-old has decided to resume his rivalry with Dallas in order to forget the ‘worst night of his life’.

Little told the Welwyn Hatfield Times: “We both put in an application for the fight to be for the Southern Area title but Tom wasn’t cleared to compete because he was knocked out in his previous fight so the board [of control] didn’t deem him worthy of having a title shot.

“I don’t need a belt to bash him up.

“Chances at belts will come and go and I wanted the opportunity to fight him [Dallas] again.

“I could have bypassed him and fought D L Jones for the belt but the fight means more to me than the title.

“That night at Bethnal Green was the worst night of my life so I want to make up for it.”

Little admitted to being at a low ebb in the lead-up to the pair’s previous meeting in 2012, sleeping in a Volkswagen Golf car with little support around him.

Things have changed for him now but he was still keen to get another shot at Dallas.

He continued: “This fight is going to be a defining fight for me and I’m going to deliver a devastating performance.

“It’s nothing personal against Tom, it’s personal against me.

“It was a dark time of my life [when I last fought him] and I am in a beautiful place in my life now but I’d still like to put that all to bed.

“If I let the fight go the full 10-round distance I’ve failed.

“I let myself down in the previous fight and I’m determined not to do that again.”