Tyson Fury was scored favourably on the judges' scorecards on Saturday night - but his victory over Otto Wallin was by no means comfortable.
The Brit had planned to celebrate his victory over Wallin with a night out on the famous Las Vegas Strip but instead spent it in hospital after coming through a bloody 12-round battle.
The 31-year-old former world heavyweight champion was taken to the University Medical Center of South Nevada with two cuts over his right eye, a deep gash on the eyebrow and another on the eyelid immediately after taking a unanimous points decision.
Despite Wallin thinking he had done enough the win was a unanimous one for Fury, 116-112, 117-111, 118-110.
And the full scorecard has shown that all three judges backed Fury for the majority of the match, despite his early scare.
Wallin struck Fury with a left hook in an early round to open a bloody gash that had to be tended to for the remainder of the night.
"It was a great fight, I got caught on the eye and that changed the fight," Fury said in a ringside interview.
"For the majority I could not see out of the eye. Then there was a clash of heads and I got cut again."
The referee paused the fight in the sixth round to have the cut inspected, and that seemed to be the wake up call needed to ignite the 6-foot-9-inch boxer.
Fury came alive in the middle to late rounds, pounding Wallin with close-range shots though not finishing him.
The final round proved a wild finish as Fury went for the kill before being hit with a powerful left from the southpaw Wallin.
Wallin (20-1) entered the night undefeated but untested by notable competition. The 28-year-old exceeded expectations in an entertaining clash.
"I did everything I could, I tried my best and Tyson is a great champion," he said. "Nobody can question my heart or question that I'm a good fighter."
