Playboy lifestyle and £5,000 casino win not enough of a buzz for Sheffield boxer who is returning to the sport

But the flamboyant way of life failed to mask one thing...he was missing boxing.

The Darnall father-of-three had left the sport after a miserable series of five straight losses undermined his desire to carry on. But now, in a new training base run by former Sheffield world champion Junior Witter, he is desperate to give it another shot.

"My pride had been shocked by the defeats" said the 35-year-old. "I had five months off and went off the rails. I was down in the dumps and went off boxing.

'I was boozing every day and not taking anything serious. I had no focus and direction, just drinking and gambling" said Dutton, who is a DJ who gets work in nightspots ranging from Niche, Sheffield to the United Arab Emirates.

"In two weeks I won £5,000 on roulette, it was just luck. But all of that was not enough.

'It was not fulfilling me and I wanted to do something my kids would be proud of. I want to win a belt and come home and show it to my children, Charley, Max and Ronnie."

Dutton's hunger to return and add to his four victories coincided with Witter opening a gym in Rotherham.

"Junior was at Brendan Ingle's all of his career but he's got his own place now and he's training me, Kash Ali and Dom Hunt, as well as 20 or 30 amateurs," said the Carl Greaves-managed light heavyweight.

"Junior paid me a massive compliment saying: 'You are a switch-hitter - that is what I am teaching people to do...if you were 20 years old I would be rubbing my hands.' '

Dutton, formerly of Gleadless, added: "Other trainers have got me really fit, but Junior gives me one-to-one tuition, telling me what to do, when, and what not to do.

"He concentrates on technique, studying my pros and cons. 

"Junior thinks I can achieve something, he thinks I can win some sort of title.

'He has seen something and has confidence in me and that means a lot."

*Dutton invested some his casino winnings in a business - an agency to provide door supervisors at nightspots.

*Hunt, originally from Wakefield, plans to make his pro debut on November 24 at Doncaster Dome.