Jason Cunningham defeats Miguel Gonlazez on Nathan Heaney-Jack Flatley undercard

Cunningham, who was returning to the ring seven months after his devastating knockout to Zolani Tete, scored a unanimous decision victory over his opponent, a former world title challenger, with all judges calling it 99-91 in his favour after ten rounds of action at the International Centre in Telford.

Cunningham established the centre of the ring in a cagey opening round but retreated in the second as his opponent came out with more purpose.

The Iceman made a better start to the third after stepping up the tempo and boxing more on the front foot, landing scoring punches without hurting his opponent.

A quiet start to the fourth saw little action but Woodlands’ Cunningham improved as the round wore on and landed some of his best shots yet, while round five passed largely without incident.

Trainer Stefy Bull gee'd his man up at the start of the sixth, which inspired some improvement as Cunningham began to take control.

He enjoyed his best round in the seventh as more of his punches landed to the head and body of an increasingly troubled Gonzalez, who had little in response.

Emboldened, Cunningham grew in confidence and his punches grew more spiteful with a three-shot combination the highlight of a dominant eighth round.

As the contest slipped away from him Gonzalez came forward at the start of round nine.

But there was little in the Chilean's arsenal to trouble Cunningham, who looked increasingly at ease following the traumatic events of July as the fight wore on.

A strong finish proved elusive for Cunningham despite landing some clean shots in the tenth and final round.

It was no classic, but he proved he still has enough left in the tank to compete at international level.

His latest strap brings with it a top-15 ranking with the WBO.

A domestic dust-up against Liam Davis, who now holds the British and European super featherweight belts Cunnigham previously owned, also beckons in June.

That fight could be a world title eliminator. By which time Cunningham’s defeat to Tete is likely to be scrubbed off as a no-contest after the South African tested positive for a performance-enhancing drug.