Norwich boxer Danny McIntosh believes a lack of preparation time cost him another famous overseas victory.

McIntosh had less than three weeks to prepare himself for the weekend trip to Canada to face young prospect Eleider Alvarez for the WBO's North American Boxing Organisation (NABO) title.

The short notice finally caught up with McIntosh in the eighth round of their contest in Montreal as the home favourite caught him with a big right hook which ended the contest.

McIntosh earned plenty of local fans for his brave efforts, against the odds, but was still deflated afterwards.

'I'm bitterly disappointed because with more preparation time I know I could have won the fight,' said McIntosh, who won the European light-heavyweight title in January last year when he beat Thierry Karl in France.

'I just couldn't get my jab working and I know I lacked some spark in there, but in all honesty he is a very good fighter and I was very tired going into the eighth, which is when he caught me with a peach of punch that ended my night.

'I knew they thought they had some cocky fighter from England coming out there who likes to sometimes stick his chin out and drop his guard, but I had a plan and stuck to it until that point when he caught me with a peach of a shot.

'As I have already said I'm gutted, but that's boxing and I just felt I couldn't turn the opportunity down.'

The 32-year-old's trip over the Atlantic was always going to be something of a gamble, given the time constraints, but co-manager Neil Featherby, who travelled with him, was delighted that McIntosh managed to claim some victories outside of the ring.

'He earned a tremendous amount of respect from the Canadian and American camps after giving one of his most disciplined displays to date,' said Featherby. 'He went there to win and with a game plan, but just fell short on sharpness and timing which eventually led to him running out of steam and getting caught with a big right hook in the eighth round.'

Featherby added: 'Danny has nothing to feel down about. He gave a great display in there, boxing to orders throughout the fight.

'He has earned a lot of respect from that side of the Atlantic with several people asking about his availability to go back and train and box in Canada and America.

'He really was a credit and has made a lot of new friends over there. If he now gets his head down and really sticks to his training, 2013 could be a good year for him.'