Noel Mikaelian beat Badou Jack by a unanimous points decision in Los Angeles to regain the WBC cruiserweight title.

Mikaelian had been narrowly beaten by Jack in May and lost the belt, but the German earned a convincing win on Saturday as the three judges scored the fight 115-111, 116-110, 116-110 in his favour.

The bout was a scrappy affair in which Mikaelian, 35, was deducted a point in the seventh round for a punch to the back of his 42-year-old Swedish opponent’s head.

A point was then taken off Jack in the eighth for punching after the bell, with officials and both corners having to step into the ring to separate the pair as they continued to fight.

Mikaelian improved his record to 28 wins and three defeats from his 31 fights, while Jack has 29 wins, four defeats and three draws from 36 outings.