Tom Dallas’ manager has hit back at those who have written the Chatham heavyweight fighter off.

Dallas suffered a dramatic defeat to Matt Skelton in Sheffield on Saturday night after referee Phil Edwards halted the contest in the fifth round.

The scheduled eight-rounder was broadcast live on Sky Sports and critics such as former World Champion Barry McGuigan laid into Dallas afterwards.

"It looks like Tom Dallas’ career is over and it’s sad," said McGuigan.

But Dallas’ manager Mark Roe, who guided Julius Francis to the British heavyweight title, insists the critics are wrong.

Roe said: "Are we going to write every fighter off because he has lost a couple of fights?

"Tom is still young and learning and we will take a lot of lessons from the fight."

Dallas, 26, was returning to the ring nine months after suffering a second round KO from David Price, having stepped in with a week’s notice to fight his stablemate.

On Saturday he was facing 45-year-old former British champion Skelton but despite a promising opening round, he lost the next four.

McGuigan’s co-commentator Johnny Nelson – a former world cruiserweight champion – said: "Tom Dallas saw his professional career crumbling infront of him."

Dallas was complaining of feeling tired as early as the third round, which Roe believes could have been down to being concussed, after receiving a blow to the head in round two.

The fight was eventually stopped in ugly circumstances with Dallas being pushed vertically down on the ropes and being pounded, with no defence, by an unrelenting Skelton. Dallas came close to being pushed headfirst out of the ring.

Roe complained about the manner of the victory to British Boxing Board of Control secretary Rob Smith and will be lodging a formal complaint.

He said: "We were behind in the fight on points and I accept that, it isn’t sour grapes but it was an eight-round fight.

"I thought the referee was going to give Skelton a warning for his actions, as he had already done that but instead he stopped it.

"The fight was inconclusive because Skelton won by foul play and the result should have been a no-contest. But I have already been told by the Board that they won’t change anything. I will be writing a complaint though.

"Tom couldn’t defend himself and if he had of come out of the ring then they might have been dealing with something more serious, like a lawsuit."