JAMIE Cox ended his 11-month absence from the ring with a wide points victory over Martin Fidel Rios.

The Swindon southpaw topped the bill in Bolton on Saturday night as he looked to hit the path to a world title shot once more following his well-documented absence from the squared circle.

However, the 30-year-old, who claimed three first-round stoppage wins last year to earn a world ranking of four with the WBO, was far from vintage against an awkward and gangly opponent from Argentina.

Cox, who is now unbeaten in all 21 of his contests to date, was perhaps, understandably, a little over eager from the opening bell and had to be warned about leading with his head.

The former Commonwealth Games gold medallist had two points deducted during this scrappy battle for use of the head, while Rios, who was also down in the third round, had three points deducted.

Cox, who also sustained a cut following an accidental clash of heads in the fifth round, took a 98-86 decision from referee Phil Edwards.

“He was a tricky customer. It’s been 11 months out of the ring. It was a messy fight, I got drawn in (when I shouldn’t have). (It was) my fault,” Cox told BoxNation after the fight.

“I try and bring some excitement. It went 10 rounds, (we move) onto the next one.”

The win over Rios should see the former Commonwealth light-middleweight champion claim his place back in the top 10 of the WBO world rankings.