Dillian Whyte marked being cleared of his drugs charge by beating former world title challenger Mariusz Wach by a unanimous points decision.
Whyte failed to dazzle and was made to work by Wach 24 hours after UK Anti-Doping exonerated him over his failed dugs test in June.
He consistently landed scoring punches rather than powerful ones until the last round and Wach took everything he threw at him.
The judges saw it for Whyte and scored the contest 98-93, 97-93 (twice).
Whyte is glad he can put the last six months behind him and said: “I boxed nowhere near my standard.
“I’ve been off for six months and my mind was not in the right place.
“I wanted to stop him, but he is tough. I’ve been through hell these last few months, but I’ve stuck around because I’m as tough as old boots.
“I went from being a hero to being a nobody in the space of one day. A few months ago I was in a dark place, and it felt good just to make this fight.”
Whyte landed a few solid shots, including a big right, on Wach in the first round in a signal of his intent.
Whyte maintained the pressure and worked Wach’s body in the second and third rounds, although one or two looked below the belt.
Wach took Wladimir Klitschko the distance and fired back, but Whyte was in control as he alternated well targeting his opponent’s head and body.
Wach was strong and landed a couple of left hooks to give Whyte a proper work-out.
The Body Snatcher beat Wach to the punch and jabbed well before the fight nearly turned in the ninth.
Wach hurt Whyte and suddenly the Brixton fighter was the one gasping for breath as his opponent piled on the pressure at the end of the round.
Whyte landed a left-right combination at the start of the 10th before Wach responded with a good right hand.
This was definitely Whyte’s round and he hurt Wach with a stinging right to finish with a flourish.
