Smith believes he should have won his first fight against Bendall

Liverpool's former English middleweight champion Paul Smith Jnr intends to fight a re-match against Steven Bendall for the title on 6 September.

The 25-year-old narrowly lost his belt and unbeaten record to Coventry's Bendall on points (96-94) in Birmingham on Saturday.

Speaking of the bout Smith told BBC Radio Merseyside: "I thought I had won the fight.

"There's a lot I'll do different this time to turn the decision on its head."

Smith added that he was devastated by the referee's decision to score the fight in Bendall's favour.

"I thought I had easily done enough to win.

"There weren't any rounds where I sat down and thought to myself I'd lost that round there and I'm always a worrier in fights."

Smith added that his first loss could help his boxing career forward in the long run.

"The silly 'unbeaten' tag has gone now and there's not as much pressure on me because I have had a defeat."

The fight is expected to be staged at the MEN Arena in Manchester.