MICHAEL FAFERA insisted that he will change his aggressive mindset after surviving a knockdown in a narrow points win over Raimonds Sniedze.

The York boxer was sent to the canvas for the first time in his professional career by Latvia’s Sniedze in the third of their four-round contest at the Elland Road Pavilion in Leeds.

A sweet counter-left-hook from Sniedze caught Fafera square and sent him reeling to the trunk of his shorts.

The shot changed the complexion of the fight, with Fafera needing to the win the final three minutes and he managed to dig deep to edge the round and the fight - winning 38-37.

It keep up his 100 per cent winning record as a professional which now stands at six wins from as many contests.

“This was a big learning curve for me,” reflected Fafera.

“I feel like in the first round, I went in there and all I was looking for was the knockout and it never came.

“I know that I need to stop that mindset.

“I felt like I dominated that fight aside from that 20-second period where he caught me with one clean shot and put me down.

“But I wasn’t hurt by the shot, I just got caught off balance and I came back even stronger from that in the next round.

“In my eyes, it’s a win-win situation. I know that not everyone will see the fight like that. But, in my eyes, this was a big learning experience for me.

“My thinking is that I need to put on a show for the fans, so I’ll put my hands down and try and be Floyd Mayweather.

“I then got caught with a shot and you saw what happened.

“I thought that I came back stronger from that and showed a lot of heart to win the fight.

“Next time, it won’t happen again.”

Fafera and his trainer, Stephen Melton, described his training camp as one of the best of his career and his September win over Darryl Sharp was also deemed to be one of his most accomplished displays to date.

The 25-year-old didn’t offer any excuses about the knockdown.

Fafera added: “When I’m sparring, I know that I can drop my hands at times and showboat, but in the real fights, that’s something that I need to get out of my head.

“I can’t blame anyone else but my stupid self for dropping my hands and getting knocked down.”

To his credit, Fafera showed heart to retaliate by winning the decisive fourth and final round of the fight.

“By the fourth, I knew that I had to pull myself together,” he added.

“I knew that I had to do whatever it takes to win that round and I did.

“As well, I think that I will have learned more from that than I will have had I knocked him out in the first or second round.

“I’m still unbeaten, I’m 6-0 now and I still feel like I’m learning from every fight.

“I’ve only been pro for just over a year and I’ve only been boxing for three years, so there’s still a lot to learn.

“I know that I’m not perfect, but I’m just trying to be as good as I can be.

Fafera is hoping to be back in action in March on another Elland Road show, in his first six-round fight.

l Elsewhere, fellow York professional Cam Shaw also maintained his undefeated professional record after defeating Batley’s Nabil Ahmed.

Shaw won a 40-37 points decision after four rounds at the Kingston Suite at Hull’s KCOM Stadium.