George Groves made a winning return to action in his first fight since losing to Carl Froch in May by outpointing Frenchman Christopher Rebrasse at Wembley Arena.
The unanimous verdict saw Groves claim Rebrasse's European super middleweight crown and the vacant WBC silver title.
The fight also doubled as a final eliminator for the WBC world title, which means Groves could now face Anthony Dirrell for a shot at the undefeated American's belt.
Groves came into the fight on the back of successive defeats to to IBF and WBA champion Froch - the first of his career - with his eighth-round defeat at Wembley Stadium earlier this year following the controversial nine-round defeat to the same opponent last November.
Even though he was the challenger, the 26-year-old Londoner was still the favourite against Rebrasse, who had won 22 of 27 fights at a lower level, and he was soon on top as the likes of golf star Rory McIlroy and Arsenal midfielder Mesut Ozil watched on from ringside.
However, despite largely dominating throughout, Groves was unable to put the tough Frenchman away and was forced to go all 12 roungs.
With his title slipping away, Rebrasse tried to launch a counter-attack in the closing rounds, but Groves never looked in trouble and took the title, with two judges giving 'The Saint' victory by 118-110 and one by 117-111.
