Former world champion Robin Reid suffered a defeat at the hands of Italian Silvio Branco in his first fight for 18 months.

Reid, who once held the WBC super-middleweight title, lost a unanimous points decision to the lanky Italian after 12 rounds of mostly dreary action.

The Runcorn man nearly pulled out an unlikely victory in the final round when a low blow put his opponent down. Referee Mickey Vann failed to see the foul and counted it as a knockdown. Justice prevailed, as Branco was up by the count of eight and survived easily.

But Reid was generally second best to a man who can hardly be considered a threat on the world scene.

It remains to be seen whether Reid can revive a career which has seen him lose three times, usually to men with average boxing ability.

The size of the margins on the judges' scorecards - 115-111, 118-109 and 117-110 - suggests that Reid, who works part-time as a model, may be best advised to find something else to do.