BARRHEAD boxer Gary Rae admits he learned a harsh lesson when he was knocked down for the first time in his professional career and has vowed to ensure the mistake that almost cost him dear won’t happen again.

The former Barrhead ABC fighter made it three wins from three as a professional when he defeated Simas Volosinas in Glasgow last month.

Rae survived the scare in the third round which was caused by a powerful counter right hand.

But the Barrhead man was quickly back to his feet and he controlled the other three rounds to take a 38-37 points victory.

Rae admitted he was embarrassed by the knock down and says he can’t afford to make similar lapses in concentration if he wants to climb the pro ranks.

He said: “After watching it with my coach Mark (Breslin), we both said I was boxing really well off the back foot at times and going forward as well.

“It was just that one moment, a loss of concentration that almost cost me the fight. I’ve come out of the clinch too high and dropped my left hand, I can’t afford to do that, at a higher level I would’ve been punished for that.

“It’s a great thing to learn, but not something I’d choose to learn. I think next time if I’m knocked down I’ll take a knee and get some deep breaths. I got straight back up because I felt fine and a bit of embarrassed.

“I thought I came out and had a really strong fourth round which was good for me to show I could recover quickly from being knocked down.”

The fight was made at just three days notice and Rae was giving away a lot of weight to the Lithuanian, something Rae said he wouldn’t rush to do again.

The 28-year-old is set to be back in action in May or June when he hopes to make the step up to a six-round bout.

He said: “It was three weight classes above my normal fighting weight, I think next time we take a fight at short notice we won’t be doing that.

“There’s a big difference in punching power. I would like a six-rounder now, I feel I’m ready to make that step up, especially after beating someone with a big weight advantage. I felt I could’ve done another two rounds and stepped it up again.”