IBRAHIM Nadim marked his return to the ring after over 15 months out with an emphatic victory over Nicaragua's Cristian Narvaez on Saturday night.

After suffering with hand and shoulder injuries over the past year, the lightweight's professional career had stalled.

The Keighley resident's previous fight had been against Bulgaria's Tinko Banabakov last March, where he suffered a shock first defeat.

The 25-year-old was 9-1 heading into Saturday's fight in Bolton, looking to reach double figures for professional victories.

And the Ricky Hatton-trained talent was easily the better boxer on Saturday, winning every round against Narvaez.

That allowed the Steeton-born lightweight to romp to a comfortable 60-54 points victory in the six-round bout at the De Vere Whites Hotel against an opponent a whole six inches shorter than him.

It also meant Nadim was able to claim his first professional win since beating Romania's Alexandru Ionita in October 2022.

Speaking to the Keighley News ahead of the fight, the Steeton native was hopeful a victory over Narvaez would help set up a title fight soon, though if and when that happens remains to be seen.

For now, Nadim has a fight pencilled in for Saturday, July 13 against Colombia's Joshua Ocampo (8-26-5) at the John Charles Centre for Sport in Leeds.