Elliott Matthews is targeting a British title fight in the autumn after returning to the ring in winning fashion.

Fighting for the first time since claiming the English title with a unanimous defeat of Grant Dennis, the Watford middleweight overcame Lewis van Poetsch on Saturday.

The fight at the Watford Leisure Centre represented a chance to keep Matthews ticking over and he now has his sights set on far bigger targets for the remainder of 2018.

“I went in there relaxed and opened up a savvy journeyman with a tight defence, going through the gears and implementing what we’ve worked on” Matthews said.

“My next choice would be a British title in September, but there are lots of avenues available.

“We need to filter through them and choose the sensible option.

“We want to be active and get some big things in the diary for the rest of the year, with the aim of being in a big title fight next year.”