HARI Miles might have hung up his gloves but he is not ready to give up the fight game just yet.

Only a few bandages protect the 31-year-old’s hands when he enters the ring now, for Miles is a newcomer to the world of bare-knuckle boxing.

The heavyweight, a professional boxer for nearly a decade before retiring last month, made a winning start to his bare-knuckle career at the end of January.

Having signed a deal with UBBAD Promotions, Blackwood’s Miles beat American Josh Burns on points in Coventry.

And the former Team Calzaghe member will be venturing back to the same West Midlands city at the end of April for his next contest.

An eye problem, coupled with a sense of boredom fighting under the Marquess of Queensberry rules, prompted Miles to turn his attentions to bare-knuckle boxing.

Explaining his decision, he said: “My aim was to have a couple more fights with the gloves on but I wouldn’t pass the medical.

“I had an eye test and when I got the results I decided there and then to finish boxing professionally.

“I was also pretty bored of it.

“I was going on the road for fights and most of the time you know you’re going to lose before you’ve turned up.”

Looking back on his boxing career, he added: “Enzo Calzaghe was my trainer at the start and maybe if he and Joe hadn’t retired I could have gone on to win big titles.

“I got to the Prizefighter final quite comfortably but my fitness let me down in the end, and I wasn’t 100 per cent for a number of my fights.

“But I did get to fight on some massive bills. The best one was Joe Calzaghe-Mikkel Kessler at the Millennium Stadium.

“I also got to fight in Denmark, Spain and Germany, worked with some top trainers like Enzo and Dai Gardiner, and met a lot of really nice people.”

Miles, who is set to become a dad for the second time in August, won nine and lost 12 of his professional fights.

He triumphed on his debut in July 2007 and beat his next two opponents before suffering a first defeat against Wayne Brooks in Newport.

After losing to Wadi Camacho in the Prizefighter cruiserweights final in 2013 and then tasting defeat on a bill in Spain, Miles was sentenced to three months in prison after an incident while on a night out in Cardiff.

A break of 29 months followed before Miles returned to the ring but, despite some impressive displays, he lost all three fights in 2016, the last coming at York Hall in October.

“My partner wanted me to stop fighting altogether but it’s in me,” he said. “I love going to the gym and fighting.

“This now is the only thing I could do to stay competitive, I didn’t want to fight on the street and end up in prison again.

“I’m going to give it a go and see what happens. The fight on April 28 against a lad from Newcastle is going to be a world title eliminator so things are moving fast.”