Dillian Whyte edged out American heavyweight Jermaine Franklin on a majority decision after their 12-round contest at Wembley Arena.
Whyte was returning from defeat to Tyson Fury in April at neighbouring Wembley Stadium and had a battle on his hands against Franklin, with one judge, Michael Alexander scoring their bout level at 115-115.
The other two judges, Juergen Landos and Grzegorz Molenda however both scored the fight 116-112 for Whyte.
Franklin found some early success when he caught his counterpart flush on the jaw in the second round before Whyte landed a nasty looking left hook.
Whyte started to up the ante in the middle rounds with Franklin seeming to struggle to deal with his intensity. The American however continued to march through shots after he was backed onto the ropes in the seventh.
Searching for a way past Franklin, the 34-year-old Whyte started getting frustrated but landed a gigantic right hook that rocked the American.
The pair traded shots in the last round and Whyte connected with another right to put Franklin on the ropes before the bell signalled the end
Anthony Joshua was ringside to watch the fight
“I expected a tough fight,” Whyte said afterwards. “He’s undefeated. He’s got a lot of beans in his belly and he come here to give us a good fight.”
A former rival, and former world champion, Anthony Joshua was ringside to watch Whyte and could be viewing him as a potential opponent for 2023.
“I’m ready for whatever. Right now, I just want to relax, go home,” Whyte said. “I miss my family, I miss my kids, I miss my dogs.”
