Britain’s James DeGale earned victory by unanimous decision against Matt Floyd on his bare-knuckle boxing debut in Manchester.
DeGale, an Olympic gold medallist and former two-time IBF super-middleweight champion, came out on top of a scrappy affair with the judges scoring it 48-43, 48-43 and 47-44 in his favour.
Australian Floyd was deducted three points during the fight for headbutting DeGale and putting him in a headlock, with the 39-year-old Briton doing some of his best work via his jab.
“The holding and punching, it’s crazy stuff. But I’m 1-0 and that’s all that matters,” said DeGale.
“He was tough but in a boxing fight he wouldn’t last two rounds.”
The bout was DeGale’s first since a punishing loss to Chris Eubank Jr six years ago that ended his career.
DeGale made history as Britain’s first boxer to win both Olympic gold and a professional world title in 2015.
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