Ricky Burns has won his first fight since stepping up to light welterweight with a comfortable points victory over Alexandre Lepelley in Leeds.
Looking to bounce back after consecutive defeats to Terence Crawford and Dejan Zlaticanin, the former WBO lightweight title holder made a promising start, flooring his opponent in the first round and the Scot used the jab to good effect in the first three rounds.
The Frenchman, a late replacement for Esteban Gonzalez, tried to pose more problems for a ring-rusty Burns who failed to assert himself on the middle rounds of the fight.
Lepelley was deducted a point late in the fight for a clash of heads, a decision the French fighter was unhappy with.
However, the deduction made little impact on the final scoreline as Burns won 79-71 despite failing to build on his initial promise.
Chris O'Keefe
