Peter McGrail overcame Rhys Edwards to claim his 11th professional win after a unanimous decision triumph in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The Liverpudlian shrugged off a clash of heads, which opened up a cut on his right eye, to see off the undefeated Welshman.

For much of the build-up to McGrail's fight on the Tyson Fury vs Oleksandr Usyk undercard, the 28-year-old was preparing for a mega domestic bout with Dennis McCann. However, a failed VADA test from McCann saw the encounter pulled leaving the Evertonian in limbo over his next opponent.

Edwards stepped in on five days notice with the 24-year-old already in camp as he was training to face Leon Woodstock in mid-January.

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Despite accepting the fight on short-notice, Edwards showed guile and put McGrail under pressure throughout the contest - landing some good body shots and left-hooks. It was an eye-catching display and one of the highlights of the undercard after two high-calibre boxers went toe-to-toe.

Midway through the third round, an accidental clash of heads opened up on the corner of McGrail's right eye but the orthodox fighter, who was decorated amateur during his formative years, ensured that it didn't impact him too much.

Edwards grew into the bout but McGrail managed to keep the Welshman at bay and moved 11-1 via a unanimous decision with judges scoring the contest 96-94, 96-94, 96-95.

In what would have been tumultuous final preparations for the fight against McCann, McGrail battled through to claim victory. Speaking after the triumph, the 28-year-old said: "The last week has been a bit of mad one, I thought I f****** had a southpaw super bantamweight completely different to Rhys Edwards. But the opponents switch I stayed professional, switched on and I knew I still had a job to do - I got the job done.

"I was expecting a tough fight, I was expecting a tougher fight than what I would've got from the other opponent. Got through it, earned valuable experience. I expect Rhys to go on and do great things so it was an honour to share the ring with him. I'm happy come out with the win, we push on from there again.

"I can't wait to fight here again in the future."