Matthews punching for the top after title defence

 A village boxer has set his sights on breaking into the UK top ten after retaining his Southern Area belt and unbeaten record last week. Elliott Matthews, 32, of Lynwood Heights, fought his way past Diego Burton in front of Eurosport cameras at the Camden Centre on Saturday, outmanoeuvring his opponent convincingly to earn an 80-74 decision. A clash of heads in the seventh round left Matthews with a cut to his forehead, with blood trickling down into his right eye. After being patched up the wound reopened in the eighth round and referee Jeff Hinds ended the fight, following the advice of the ringside doctor. Matthews was scored with the win and kept the Southern Area belt he won last September against Gary Boulden, also improving his record to ten wins and one draw. Buoyed by his performance Matthews, currently ranked 17^th in the UK, told My Chorleywood & Loudwater News that he is looking to make an assault on the top ten. He said: “My ambition is to be British champ but I need nurturing and time is important. Within the next 12 months I’m expecting to be in the top ten and possibly have a title shot. I want to take aim at a few contenders on the way. At the moment I’m fighting four times a year and learning each time I step into the ring. Now I want to get busy and get involved in some bigger shows. “I’ll be talking with my manager on the next plan of action soon,” he added. Read more in March’s My Chorleywood & Loudwater News.