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.