Tyler Christopher made the perfect start to his professional boxing career in Birmingham, England, at the weekend.

The Bermudian southpaw secured a unanimous points win over Britian’s Josh Hodgins in a four-round super-welterweight bout at the H Suite in Edgbaston on Saturday — winning every round on all three judges’ scorecards

Christopher was thrilled to make his long overdue professional debut and to have come away victorious.

“It feels good to finally join the pro ranks along with Nikki Bascome and Andre Lambe,” he told The Royal Gazette. “It’s also a good feeling to be able to represent Bermuda in Britain.

“I just wanted to enjoy the moment. Suck it all in and just go out there and do what I love to do, what I train to do five days out of the week.

“My strategy was to dictate from the start, be first. Go through my combinations that I have worked on with my coach and stay composed.

“I did have pre-fight jitters, I always do. But these jitters were different being it was my first pro fight and knowing I had not fought since February 2019.”

The 25-year-old’s convincing display exceeded his expectations.

“The fight went better than I expected it would with me knocking him out the ring [in the fourth round],” he added. “I really surprised myself with the amount of power I had.”

Christopher’s professional debut had been delayed more than a year because of the global Covid-19 pandemic.

His bout with Hodgins was also delayed having originally been scheduled for September 26 at the Holte Suite at Villa Park, home of English Premier League football club Aston Villa, before organisers cancelled the event because of promotional issues.

“I wanted to fight at welterweight and even super-lightweight,” said Christopher, who trains under head trainer Anthony Hall at D&A Boxing School of Excellence Centre in Stirchley, Birmingham. “But because the venue and date got changed, so did the opponent.

“He was the only available opponent so I ended up fighting at the weight I walk around, which is 154.

“But my opponent was a game opponent. He had many semi-pro fights and has been boxing for a long time.”

Hodgins, 30, has now suffered defeat in all five professional bouts.

Having launched his professional career on the front foot, Christopher is now keen to showcase his talents alongside fellow Bermudian professionals Michael Parsons, Bascome and Lambe as part of a scheduled event on island on November 6.

“I want to get on the November 6 card that’s in Bermuda,” he said. “I would love to come back to Bermuda with my coach and show my Bermudian fans what I’ve been working on for the two years I’ve been in England.”