Harlem Eubank stayed unbeaten and collected the 20th victory of his career by defeating Nurali Erdogan on points in Newcastle.

The 30-year-old was making his debut at welterweight, but put in a largely uneven performance over eight rounds against France’s Erdogan.

All three judges saw it for Eubank, scoring the contest 77-73, 79-70 and 77-72.

“Different style tonight, first fight at welterweight, tough guy who just wanted to tie up,” Eubank said of the fight.

“I went in there to get the job done. A unanimous decision win, I’m happy.”

Of the grappling, Eubank placed the blame on his opponent, saying: “I felt strong in there, the grabbing made it difficult.”

Eubank last fought just over 12 months ago and showed obvious signs of ring rust as he never really found his rhythm.

Erdogan, 27, was meant to be soft introduction to the welterweight division, with just one stoppage in 16 wins – but Eubank was untidy from the first bell.

He was warned repeatedly about holding, but it was Erdogan who was deducted two points for it in the second half of the bout.

In a fight lacking any real action, Eubank was wobbled momentarily by a left hook in the fifth round, but was otherwise untroubled by the visibly bigger Erdogan.

Eubank, who battled through a cut for the last two rounds, was eventually deducted a point in the final minutes, but Erdogan’s previous point deductions had already secured a win for the Briton.

Eubank, the cousin of fellow boxer Chris Eubank Jr, was due to fight Adam Azim at light-welterweight but the bout never materialised, despite the pair facing off in the ring in March during the Fabio Wardley v Frazer Clarke card.

Speaking of future fights, neither Eubank or his team mentioned Azim, but said they were targeting “big things” in 2025.