BRIGHTON CENTRE, BRIGHTON -- Michael Conlan's return to the boxing ring was a successful one as he outpointed Asad Asif Khan over eight rounds at the Brighton Centre tonight.

Irishman Conlan (19-3, 9 KOs) hadn't been in action since December 2023, when he was knocked out in the seventh round of his fight with Jordan Gill.

After a period of reflection away from the squared circle in which he joined a running club, banked 900 miles in four months and pondered retirement, Conlan decided that his future was with a sport he admitted would never love him back.

After several previous attempts at world titles, Conlan insists that is still the goal as he enters the last few fights of his career with new promoters Wasserman.

And tonight he kicked things off in the right way by grabbing a decision win over Khan (19-6-1, 5 KOs) with referee Bob Williams' score of 78-74 down on the south coast.

The fight took place on the undercard of former stablemate Harlem Eubank's clash with Tyrone McKenna, live on Channel 5 in the UK.

The first round of the fight wasn't to be the feeling-out round observers might have expected following Conan's 16-month spell out of the ring.

Conlan took the fight to his opponent from the off, throwing vicious left hooks to the head and body, backing his man against the ropes and into each corner.

The second round saw Conlan revert back to his jab, perhaps after some stern words with new head trainer Grant Smith. Switching stances throughout, the 33-year-old took control of the centre of the ring and proved to be the superior man from range.

Toward the end of the third, which Conlan had spent trying to set up a huge overhand left, could've ended in devastating fashion for India's Khan, who avoided that very shot by the skin of his teeth after backing onto the ropes following a flurry from Conlan.

The fourth stanza saw Conlan take his first bit of damage, a right hand which landed slap-bang on the button while in the middle of an exchange with Khan.

Conlan dazzled in the fifth as he landed blistering combinations. Khan, though, stood up to it all, including a leaping left uppercut his opponent threw from the hip.

For the next couple of rounds, Conlan boxed to orders and banked much-needed rounds while Khan's corner wailed for more urgency from their man.

Khan showed off his best work in the eighth and final round, but it was to be Conlan's night in the end. More miles on the clock for the Belfast man, who knows that tougher tests await if he's to reach the summit of the sport.

After the fight, it was announced that Conlan would fight European featherweight champion Cristobal Llorente (20-0-1, 8 KOs) at a date and venue to be confirmed.