WHEN all is said and done I am still a world champion after beating Kabary Salem, but I can't possibly say that it was a fight that I enjoyed.

Sometimes a champion has to be ready to win ugly and that is certainly what I did on Friday night when I desperately wanted to put on a show.

Salem was the most awkward fighter I have ever come across in my career and after eight months out of the picture I was a bit ring-rusty.

But Salem wasn't interested in a fight and he made his intentions pretty clear by hitting me in the leg after the bell right at the beginning of the fight.

He didn't care if he got disqualified or what happened because he knew he couldn't beat me and he thought nothing about leaving his head in, which he did time and time again.

He also caught me with a lot of low punches when the referee was trying to split us up and he used his shoulder a lot, trying to push me and use the head some more.

What I needed to do was to stay clear and let my jab do the talking because if it was a boxing match then he had no chance against me.

But it wasn't like that, it was a brawl, an ugly fight that was more like prison rules and it didn't suit me to be honest.

I guess the other thing that people will remember about the fight is that Salem knocked me down, becoming only the second person to do so in my career.

When he knocked me down and credit to him it was a good punch, I wasn't hurt and I only felt one emotion, embarrassment.

When Byron Mitchell knocked me down I was hurt, even if I didn't show it the way I responded by getting up and finishing him off quickly.

But this time round the only thing that hurt was my pride because I was desperate to put on a good show.

It was a fairly decent shot as I said but I had been drawn too close to him and he caught me with my hands down, which is something again that I would put down to rustiness.

It took me a little while to get going after that because I was so annoyed with myself but soon enough I got my jab going and I began to outclass him, which I knew I would.

I am a pretty passionate bloke and sometimes I let my heart rule my head and because of that I allowed myself to get involved in a dirty fight and that is a shame for everyone really.

But the bottom line is I won and am still champion, you can tick the fight off and the records will always show a 'W' after my name.

It also wasn't a close decision, it was a comfortable victory albeit without a knockout. It wasn't a fight that benefited me and I would never want to be involved in a boxing match with someone like Salem again.

But the one thing that I am pleased about is the fact that I went twelve rounds without my performance dipping at the end and after so long out of the ring that will stand me in good stead.

It was twelve long hard rounds and credit to Salem he was very fit and although it was a bad fight it was a good workout and I am grateful for that.

One disappointing aspect of it all is that I wasn't able to put on a show for the Scottish fight fans who turned up on the night, because they were absolutely superb.

It was a historic fight in the sense that it was the first world title fight staged in Edinburgh and the fans enjoyed it, they were grateful to be involved in the occasion.

They are true boxing fans up there and the way they appreciated me was fantastic.

I was a bit surprised with how well they received me and the backing that I got but I suppose

I shouldn't be because the Scots are similar to the Welsh in the way they support people, they are very passionate, it must be the Celtic blood!

Edinburgh is a really great city as well, I had a great time up there and I would love to go back and fight there again in the future.

The future is as always up in the air now in terms of who I fight next but I really want to be back in the ring by February, or March at the latest.

It need to be active and out there putting on a show and banging the drum, because I know I will be better the next time I am in the ring.

Everyone knows that I want to move up a weight and fight Glen Johnson or Antonio Tarver but when that happens I don't know, that is up to my promoter Frank Warren to work out.

He knows how I feel and he is trying to get something done but boxing politics always seem to play a part. But whatever is next, be it stepping up a weight or fighting someone in a unification match, I just want it to be as soon as possible.

I will be getting back into training very soon but first off is a holiday in Cancun Mexico so I won't be around for the column next week. I am looking forward to a break and I just hope that the weather is better there than it is here at the moment!....