Charlie Edwards snapped a 308-day layoff to outbox Georges Ory by 10-round unanimous decision in their bantamweight contest at York Hall in the Bethnal Green section of London, England on Friday.

Edwards (18-1, 7 knockouts), who previously held the WBC flyweight title, was fighting for only the fourth time in almost five years. He used his boxing skills to claim a 98-92 decision on all three judges scorecards.

Edwards, a 31-year-old technician who lives in Portugal but originally hails from nearby Surrey, started well and got rid of any nerves by boxing on the back foot and using his superior movement to offset the more aggressive Frenchman in the opening round. 

Ory (17-3-1, 2 KOs), an awkward switch-hitter, had a little more success in the second round, notably landing a pair of left hands. 

However, Edwards wasn’t overawed and stuck to his boxing and kept Ory honest with his jab and mixed in some body shots. The Frenchman, who previously held the European title and was on a six-fight winning streak, barreled forward but was often countered.

The Brit has found his feet and assumed control by the six-round and began to showboat which showed he was at home and comfortable

The pattern the followed for much of the second half of the contest and at the final bell Edwards was a clear winner.

It was a measured and poised performance from Edwards, who showed he isn’t done yet and can be in the mix for domestic and international titles before he hopes to look to step back onto the world stage. To do that he had to get things underway against Ory and he did so.

Afterwards a clearly emotional Edwards and promoter, Kalle Sauerland of Wasserman Boxing, spoke to Channel 5.

“It was very special, I’ve been through a lot, I’ve been messed around and lied to,” said Edwards, the older brother of former IBF flyweight titlist Sunny, who was in his corner. “I want to say thank you to God for putting me on this path for coming through these trials and tribulations that I had to go through to grow as a man. 

“A massive thank you to my wife and daughter because I’ve given everything for this sport and I didn’t think I was going to get it back and I thought I was going to give up at certain stages but looking at my missus and little one I just had to keep pushing through you can get back to where you need to be and I’m back there.”

Edwards now hopes to stay busy.

“Now I’ve got the first one out the way, once I get the second and third one out the way, I’m taking them all out,” he said. “Thomas Essomba is the European champion, Paul Butler is fighting in four-weeks time. You can’t hide forever, you can’t dodge me forever, it’s time to get this gold rust back on.”

Questions and/or comments can be sent to Anson at [email protected] and you can follow him on 

Twitter@AnsonWainwright