Rose scores points win in Birmingham

He defeated Bulgarian Stiliyan Kostov over eight rounds.

By round two Rose was countering well with his jab and following it up with the right hand.

Rose, who had had an elbow operation since his last fight (a loss to the now retired Matthew Macklin at the 02 Arena in London) found the East European a game opponent.

Fighting in the city where he was born before moving to Blackpool, by the sixth round Rose was using his jab constantly as he attempted to soften up Kostov.

In the eighth Rose was picking his shots and taking his time - by the end of the session he had completed the job.