Dillian Whyte made a winning return to the ring with a three-round victory over Christian Hammer in Ireland.

The former WBC interim heavyweight champion, fighting for the first time since clearing his name of doping offences, proved too strong for his Romanian-born opponent in Castlebar, County Mayo.

Hammer failed to get up from his stool for the fourth round, forcing the referee to stop the bout and hand Whyte his 30th professional victory.

The 35-year-old Briton had not fought since his victory over Jermaine Franklin at Wembley in November 2022.

He had been lined up to face Anthony Joshua last August but the proposed match-up never happened after Whyte tested positive for a banned substance.

Whyte protested his innocence and was cleared to resume his career after it was accepted he had consumed a contaminated supplement.