UK light-heavyweight Joshua Buatsi earned a win yet underwhelming start to life under fresh promotional backing with a points victory over Zach Parker in Manchester.
The Olympic bronze medallist's activity level seemingly secured him a split decision in a competitive 10-round bout at the Manchester venue.
But Parker found success, landing some telling individual punches in a fight where the styles didn't complement each other, with constant grabbing marring the contest.
The scoring judges judged it 96-94 for to Buatsi, with the remaining official a 95-95.
"It wasn't my finest display but what do champions do? They win," the victor said in the ring as he was greeted with negative reactions from the audience.
The British fighter bounced back after his maiden career setback - an epic battle with Callum Smith in February - to earn a twentieth professional win.
Some ringside observers felt the challenger, thirty-one, should have been awarded the decision but the Derbyshire fighter experienced the second setback of his 28-bout career.
Buatsi Claims Win in Uneventful Affair
Buatsi's progress has slowed in the past few years through contract problems and long spells of inactivity.
Once tipped as the future of British boxing, he now is positioned trying to achieve expectations - possibly in what seems like a final roll of the dice - under new promotional backing.
He started carefully, with the two boxers willing to overcommit in a calculated initial rounds.
Parker, whose sole prior loss came at the lower weight class against John Ryder in 2022 after damaging his hand during the bout, was participating in his second appearance at light heavyweight.
By the fight's midpoint, Parker had stayed in contention, making life awkward for Buatsi, who utilized a protective stance to narrowly win the more effective stanzas.
The crowd's patience wore thin amid frequent holding, with Parker slipping to the canvas several times during close exchanges.
Parker ended stronger, but several stanzas were hard to judge. Although, ex-champion the boxing analyst - working with the broadcast network - had it strongly leaning for the challenger, scoring for Buatsi just a single round.
The victor progresses, but with the caliber of heavy hitter Benavidez, and Russian star Dmitry Bivol dominating the weight class, the path to championship success - on this evidence - still appears challenging.
Hatton Tribute Motivates All-Manchester Contest
In the co-main event, Lyndon Arthur defeated Rea by divided decision in a excellent Manchester vs Manchester battle to capture the continental championship.
The venue became quiet for a profoundly moving memorial before the fight as 10 bells rang in remembrance of the city's native Ricky Hatton, who passed away 46 years old in last month.
It was the first major televised fight night in the city since Hatton's death. As the last bell disappeared, the stillness transitioned to a roar of "only one Hatton".
The fighting inside the ropes reflected the emotion. The eventual winner was knocked down by a powerful punch squarely on the face in the initial stage, rising shakily to his footing on the referee's count.
But the Manchester United-red shorts of Arthur soon advanced again. From the other corner, the opponent - in competitive blue - was damaged quickly, noticeable damage developing under his face as the fighters landed punishing blows.
Rea, twenty-seven, landed power punches but the champion, 34, matched the intensity with effective uppercuts as the pace rarely dropped over the full distance.
The victor edged the verdict with official scores of 114-114, close margin and clearer margin, but both fighters were determined and full of heart, all the qualities their inspiration Hatton stood for.
