UK light-heavyweight Joshua Buatsi made a winning yet underwhelming debut to life under fresh promotional backing with a points victory over Zach Parker in the Manchester arena.
The Olympic medal winner's work rate seemingly secured him a majority decision in a tight ten-round contest at the Co-op Live Arena.
But the challenger landed significant shots, landing some telling individual punches in a contest where the techniques didn't complement each other, with frequent clinching marring the action.
The scoring judges scored it 96-94 in favor to Buatsi, with the final judge a 95-95.
"It wasn't my greatest showing but what defines champions? They succeed," Buatsi commented in the ring as he was met by disapproval from the crowd.
The Londoner got back to winning after his first professional defeat - an epic battle with his previous opponent in last winter - to earn a 20th career victory.
Several boxing experts thought Parker, thirty-one, should have been awarded the victory but the contender suffered the second setback of his 28-match professional journey.
Buatsi Claims Victory in Uneventful Encounter
The fighter's advancement has plateaued in recent years through contract problems and considerable time of inactivity.
Earlier forecast as the rising talent of British boxing, he now is positioned trying to fulfil that early promise - maybe in what appears to be a final roll of the dice - under fresh management.
He began cautiously, with neither fighter prepared to take risks in a calculated initial rounds.
Parker, whose sole prior loss came at super-middleweight against John Ryder in two years ago after breaking his hand in the contest, was competing in only his second appearance at light heavyweight.
By the halfway stage, Parker had stayed in contention, creating difficulties for Buatsi, who utilized a protective stance to narrowly win the better rounds.
The audience's tolerance wore thin amid constant clinching, with the challenger falling to the floor several times during grappling.
The underdog closed well, but several stanzas were hard to judge. Although, ex-champion the boxing analyst - providing analysis for the broadcast network - had it particularly wide for Parker, awarding Buatsi just only one stanza.
The victor moves on, but with the likes of heavy hitter David Benavidez, and Russian champion Dmitry Bivol dominating the weight class, the journey to titles - based on this performance - still seems difficult.
Ricky Hatton Tribute Inspires All-Manchester Battle
In the secondary fight, Lyndon Arthur beat Rea by close verdict in a outstanding Manchester vs Manchester battle to secure the European light-heavyweight championship.
The arena became quiet for a extremely emotional tribute before the fight as 10 bells tolled in remembrance of the city's native Hatton, who died at age 46 in last month.
It was the premier televised boxing event in the location since the passing of Hatton. As the concluding sound ended, the silence gave way to a shout of "there's only one Ricky Hatton".
The action during the bout reflected the feeling. Arthur was knocked down by a significant blow directly to the face in the early round, standing uncertainly to his feet on the referee's count.
But the Manchester United-red attire of the fighter soon came forward again. On the opposite side, the opponent - in competitive blue - was damaged quickly, noticeable damage forming under his face as the duo exchanged powerful shots.
The challenger, 27, landed power punches but the champion, thirty-four, matched the intensity with stinging uppercuts as the action seldom decreased over 12 rounds.
Arthur edged the result with judges scorecards of even score, close margin and clearer margin, but both fighters were determined and courageous, everything their inspiration the legend stood for.
