BRADFORD boxer Jimmy First is back on Sky Sports next month to do it all again against Cori Gibbs.

First stunned the talented Gibbs when the pair last fought in December, the veteran handing his Birmingham rival a first-ever professional defeat.

But the 42-year-old now has a loss against his name too, having being beaten on points last month when defending his Central Area Lightweight title against Josh Padley at The Bradford Hotel.

First (14-1) is not interested in letting that loss derail his career and is excited to land a televised rematch with Gibbs (17-1) on Saturday, May 6.

The veteran lightweight told the T&A: “It’s good exposure and I want that fight again on the big stage.

“To go from fighting on Sky against Cori in December to facing Josh in Bradford was a bit of a comedown.

“That’s no disrespect to the venue and other small halls, but I feel like I’ve done my apprenticeship in those places now.

“I’ll fight anyone if it means being on that big stage.”

First squeezed past Gibbs last year in a fight that went the distance, though the latter was crucially deducted three points in three separate rounds for repeatedly losing his gumshield.

The Bradford man does not want his opponent to have any excuses to fall back on this time though, saying: “You’d normally have an eight-week camp before a fight but I’ve only been given four weeks’ notice.

“That’s still longer than in December, when I had just over a week’s notice.

“The referee would have scored the fight back then as a draw without the gumshield incident, so this time, let’s beat Cori convincingly to prove I’m the better boxer.”

Discussing Gibbs’ ability, First said: “He’s a good operator and a good fighter.

“But I dragged him into deep waters last time and he didn’t like it when things got a bit rough and tumble in the ring.

“He might change his tactics this time, box and move a bit more, but I’m ready to do the work I need to do to beat him.”

First remains confident despite losing to Padley (10-0) last time out, explaining: “It was a bad night at the office for me.

“Take nothing away from Josh, he’s a very good fighter, but I was ill three weeks before the fight, so in the last couple of weeks of training, I was having to take time off.

“I thought I’d fully recovered by the night of the bout, but I was about 20 per cent off my usual self.

“I reacted slowly in the ring, and didn’t adapt when Josh posed problems, when normally I would.”

A bullish First added: “I’d always say not to give up after a loss, because you win and lose in life every day, it’s about how you come back from that.

“I’m not comparing myself to the greats, but even the likes of Muhammad Ali and Mike Tyson lost fights, and it didn’t stop them.

“Too many people in boxing protect their unbeaten record as if it’s everything, but you’ve just got to put it behind you if you lose.”

As for what might come after the Gibbs bout next month, First said: “I still want a British or English title fight at some point.

“I’ll keep plugging away and fight big names if I can.

“I actually got offered a fight in Dubai against a Cuban opponent but it fell through as he wanted to do it at super-featherweight and I didn’t want to drop down.”