Fighting at welterweight will suit me much better. The body doesn't like losing weight the older you get and getting rid of the last four pounds absolutely killed me

Junior Witter

Witter is back in the gym preparing for an autumn return, when he plans to relaunch his career at welterweight.

Many observers felt the 34-year-old was finished after he quit on his stool against Devon Alexander with an elbow injury.

But Witter insists he was never tempted to hang up his gloves.

He said: "I went away on holiday for a week for a good little blow-out which I needed. But I never thought that I wouldn't come back.

"The elbow is getting better after some rest and fighting at welterweight will suit me much better. The body doesn't like losing weight the older you get and getting rid of the last four pounds absolutely killed me."

Witter would have stepped up to the 147lb division a year ago if he hadn't lost his light-welter belt to Tim Bradley. But he stayed at the lower weight to unsuccessfully chase a rematch with the Californian.

Witter admitted: "If I had beaten Bradley I was planning to move up then but I kept thinking that there was no way that kid was better than me so I tried to push for another fight, which obviously didn't happen.

"This is going to be a different challenge for me. I'm going to have to prove myself again as I have all through my career. I've gone back to the drawing board but I've always planned to fight on for two or three more years and I don't see any reason to change that."

Witter has not watched the Alexander defeat again but agreed it was the right decision to pull out at the end of the eighth round.

"Once the elbow went, I was having to box one-handed so I couldn't mount a reasonable offence. I want to go out there and win not just survive so it couldn't carry on.

"But I know I can still punch and I've still got power in the shots. While that's the case there is no reason why I can't keep fighting."

He has already got his sights on a crack at either the Commonwealth or European belts early in the new year, possibly finally pinning down Italian Gianluca Branco as an opponent.

But Witter will not get a shot at the British title because holder Kell Brook is from the same Hennessy stable.