TRAINER Tony Borg has admitted he had “never felt so low” until Lee Selby lost his IBF featherweight crown to Josh Warrington – but insists the Welshman will become a two-weight world champion.

St Joseph’s chief Borg reckons the night back in May when challenger Warrington dethroned Selby at Elland Road in Leeds was the “worst of my life”.

Borg, who has never watched a repeat of the fight, believes Selby’s subsequent decision to move up two divisions to lightweight had to happen having “gone to the well one time too many”.

“I haven’t looked back at the fight,” said Borg, who also coaches Selby’s brother Andrew. “It was probably the worst night of my life.

“I don’t talk about it, I don’t dwell on it, it was a really, really bad day.

“I’ve never felt so low, and the following morning I was going on my honeymoon.

“Lee wasn’t knocked out or hurt, he wasn’t in any danger at any time, he just couldn’t get it together. It just all fell apart, it was horrible.

“It was like Lee aged overnight. Don’t get me wrong, it has always been hard for him to make featherweight.

“People don’t realise and appreciate what he’s done to make this weight.

“When he first turned pro he was around 9st 4lb and could make that weight okay.

“In those days he would weigh-in on the Friday afternoon bang on featherweight, then he would eat, rehydrate, eat again, and by the night would be 10st 4lb.

“By the time he got in the ring he would be 10st 4lb or 10st 5lb.

“Everything was fine, he defended his British title, knocked out John Simpson, went out to Ireland and put in a fantastic performance against Martin Lindsay.

“The big difference there was he didn’t have to weigh-in again before the fight. He’d make his weight on the Friday and fight on the Saturday.

“As soon as he got to the IBF world title eliminator stage he had to weigh-in again on the Saturday morning.

“He had to watch his weight, so he’d eat and then get up in the early hours of the next morning asking if I had scales so he could check his weight all the time.

“It was having a big effect on him, but he’s not one to moan, he just gets on with it, but we went to the well one time too many.”

He added: “He was boxing at nine-and-a-half stone when he was 17, he’s now 31 and was boxing at 9st.

“In his last couple of fights before Warrington, if Lee had stepped it up a little bit he could have taken them out.

“I’d sometimes say to him around the eighth round, ‘this kid has had enough, just step it up and get him out of there’.

“He wouldn’t say ‘no, I won’t’ or ‘no, I can’t’, he just didn’t and it ended up as another points win. Maybe they should have been the warning signs.

“That power wasn’t there, and it was down to the weight, 100%. I think he had just one too many at featherweight.

“If he was boxing for the WBC or WBA title he would weigh-in on the Friday and that’s it, with the IBF you’ve got to weigh again on the Saturday morning, and that has a massive effect.”

The original plan was for Selby to move up to super-featherweight but Borg didn’t feel that was the right way to go.

“Chris (Sanigar, Selby's manager) said about going up to 9st 4lb but I said I didn’t think it would make much difference,” he said.

“It’s not been hard picking him back up at all, he’s the most consummate pro I’ve ever known.

“There’s the possibility of an eliminator at lightweight or maybe another international fight and then knock the doors of the WBA, WBC, IBF, whichever one, and get a world title shot.

“I think he’ll figure quite high in the rankings anyway.

“If they give him a shot at lightweight he will have a chance to achieve his lifetime ambition and become a two-weight world champion.

“He’s always wanted to do that anyway, but it was ‘after the next one, after the next one’.

“He’s so determined and capable of doing it.

"He applies himself so much, you know he’s going to put the work in, so I’m pretty sure that he can do it.”