Jamie McDonnell has admitted he is feeling the pressure ahead of his European title defence against Stephane Jamoye.

McDonnell was one of the success stories of 2010 as the Doncaster bantamweight captured the British, Commonwealth and European titles in the space of just three months.

But the 24-year-old now accepts he cannot afford a slip-up against Jamoye if he is to edge even closer to a possible world title shot.

"I've watched him on YouTube and he looks good," McDonnell told Boxing News. "He's game, he loves to throw hundreds of punches, he was a good amateur and he's young.

"He's been in with some decent kids and beating him will only bring me on as a fighter. I like to think I can stop him late on. If not we've got a gameplan to go the distance.

"There's a bit of pressure on me now. When I boxed Ian Napa people were expecting me to get beat and I was sort of a nobody. Now people expect me to keep winning, and do a job on these kids.

"I don't want to lose because hopefully I've got a world title fight around the corner and I think if I lost I would find it hard to pick myself back up and come back down to domestic level. Losing isn't an option now."