Peter Quillin made his successful return to the ring for the first time in nearly two years by earning a hard-fought unanimous decision over journeyman — and Conor McGregor sparring partner — Dashon Johnson.

But it damn sure wasn’t easy.

The last time Quillin (33-1-1), a former WBO middleweight ttileholder, was seen in the ring he was stopped in the first round of a highly anticipated showdown with Daniel Jacobs. The rust was evident early as Quillin got off to a slow start and Johnson (22-22) took advantage. “Flyboy” found success with the overhand right and applied pressure to test Kid Chocolate’s conditioning throughout.

The third round was nearly a disastrous one for Quillin as Johnson landed a crushing overhand right that immediately had Quillin in trouble with 20 seconds left in the round. Johnson unloaded with a scintillating bevy of power shots but Quillin somehow managed to remain upright until the round ended. With trainer Virgil Hunter yelling for Quillin to get his head into the game, Kid Chocolate got the wake-up call he needed.

Quillin finally came alive in the fifth round with a a right hand that sent Johnson into the ropes. Quillin unloaded with hooks and body shots that nearly forced a stoppage from referee Kenny Bayless but Johnson refused to go away. From there, Quillin controlled much of the fight behind a stiff jab that kept Johnson from loading up the big shot and snapped off crisp combinations. But it wasn’t without its rough patches as Quillin put himself in several unnecessary exchanges down the stretch.

Ultimately, the judges saw it in the Brooklyn fighter’s favor with scores of 78-74, 79-72 and 79-73.

Quillin is back in the win column and certainly will decide against another extended hiatus from the ring.