STUART HALL is confident he will return to the boxing big time in 2015, but admits he will continue to have “unfinished business” until he gets the chance to avenge his 2011 defeat to long-time rival Jamie McDonnell.

Having relinquished his IBF World Bantamweight title when he suffered a surprise defeat to Paul Butler in June, Hall suffered a second successive loss when he was outpointed by the impressive Randy Caballero in Monte Carlo last month.

That defeat raised questions about his long-term future, but despite turning 35 next February, the Darlington fighter remains determined to continue fighting in an attempt to get one more shot at a world belt.

Having taken some time out following his Monaco defeat, he is due to link up with his trainer, Paddy Lynch, next week to map out his future, and while he is likely to have to step down to Commonwealth or European level to get his career back on track, he is looking forward to returning to the ring at the start of next year.

“I really feel as though 2015 is going to be a big year for me,” said Hall. “I’m going to give next year my total dedication because I still feel as though I’m improving as a fighter and there are some big fights in me.

“I’m still disappointed to have lost to Caballero, but I think when he gets back into the ring next, people will appreciate how hard I pushed him and how good a fight that was.

“I’ve had so many people in boxing get in touch with me to tell me how well I did and how good they think Caballero is going to go on to be.

“I’m not ready to retire, but even if I was, I couldn’t go out on that. That fight proved I belong at world level, and next year will all be about making sure I get back there.”

The biggest domestic fight open to Hall would be a rematch with McDonnell, whose ceding of the IBF belt set off the chain of events that culminated in the North-Easterner becoming world champion.

McDonnell has subsequently signed up with Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom team, and having won the WBA World Bantamweight title in May, the South Yorkshire fighter made a successful defence against Javier Nicolas Chacon in Liverpool last month.

He is due to travel to Las Vegas in March for a unification contest against the WBO world champion Tonoki Kameda, and while Hall’s current relationship with promoter Dennis Hobson would make a rematch problematic, the County Durham man is desperate to face his former foe no matter what happens in the US.

“I’d love to fight Jamie McDonnell for a world title because I think that would be a massive thing for British boxing,” said Hall. “But even if he loses his unification fight, which I think he will, then I still think it would make for a great fight, even though we would both have nothing.

“I want to fight him again before I hang up my gloves. Whether he’s a superstar champion or a nobody, it wouldn’t matter to me, I just want that fight.

“It’s unfinished business really. I was basically just starting out when I fought him last time – I’m a completely different fighter now and I know I could beat him, no problem. He’s never fought anyone remotely near the level of Caballero, and when I think of how much I’ve improved in the last two or three years, it’s scary to think what I could do to him.”

As well as continuing to pursue his professional ambitions, Hall has also been working with Darlington College to help develop the Stuart Hall Boxing Academy, which will begin to offer formal courses from September 2015.

Falling under the umbrella of the Martin Gray Sports Academy, Hall’s boxing offshoot will offer students between the ages of 16-18 a BTEC extended diploma in sport, which is the academic equivalent of three A-levels.

Those enrolled on the course will combine their academic studies with eight hours of boxing tuition and four hours of gym work spread over the course of a week, with Hall personally overseeing the majority of sessions, which will be staged at Spennymoor Boxing Club.

“It’s something I’m really looking forward to,” he said. “It’s aimed at aspiring boxers, or people of both sexes with an interest in the sport, but it also allows people to get a qualification at the same time.

“There was nothing like this when I was young – if there had been, I might not have gone off the rails for a while like I did. I think it’s a great chance for people to study, but still get the chance to do the sport they love.”

The academic portion of the Boxing Academy work will be overseen by Darlington College, and before too long, it is hoped the sporting side of the organisation will also be housed in the town, in a redeveloped facility at the Eastbourne Sports Complex.