British light-heavyweight Joshua Buatsi secured a victory yet unimpressive debut to life under new promoters with a points victory over Zach Parker in the Manchester arena.
The Olympic bronze medallist's punch output appeared to earn him a majority decision in a close 10-round contest at the Co-op Live Arena.
But the challenger had his moments, landing some telling individual punches in a contest where the styles never quite clicked, with excessive holding marring the fight.
The officials had it 96-94 to the winner, with the final judge a even score.
"It wasn't my finest display but what defines champions? They prevail," the victor stated in the arena as he was faced negative reactions from the spectators.
The British fighter got back to winning after his initial pro loss - an thrilling contest with Callum Smith in February - to earn a 20th career victory.
Some ringside observers felt Parker, thirty-one, deserved the decision but the British boxer experienced the second defeat of his 28-fight career.
Buatsi Earns Win in Slow Match
The fighter's advancement has stalled in the past few years through management issues and long spells of inactivity.
Previously predicted as the future of UK boxing, he now finds himself trying to achieve expectations - maybe in what seems like a ultimate opportunity - under fresh management.
He opened tentatively, with neither fighter ready to take risks in a cagey early stages.
Parker, whose sole prior loss came at super-middleweight against his former opponent in 2022 after suffering a hand injury mid-fight, was participating in his second fight at the higher weight class.
By the fight's midpoint, Parker had stayed in contention, causing problems for the favorite, who worked behind a tight guard to narrowly win the better periods.
The crowd's patience wore thin during constant clinching, with the challenger going down various instances during clinches.
Parker closed well, but several stanzas were hard to judge. Nevertheless, ex-champion Carl Frampton - commentating on Dazn - had it strongly leaning for Parker, giving Buatsi just a single round.
The victor progresses, but with the likes of heavy hitter Benavidez, and Russian champion Dmitry Bivol ruling the division, the path to championship success - on this evidence - still seems difficult.
Hatton Memorial Inspires Local Rivalry Fight
In the secondary fight, Lyndon Arthur defeated Rea by split-decision in a terrific all-Manchester fight to win the European light heavyweight title.
The stadium became quiet for a extremely emotional homage before the fight as ten bells rang in honor of Manchester's own Hatton, who passed away at age 46 in recently.
It was the first major televised boxing event in the city since the passing of Hatton. As the concluding sound faded, the quiet transitioned to a roar of "only one Hatton".
The competition inside the ropes matched the feeling. The eventual winner was knocked down by a significant blow directly to the chin in the initial stage, getting up unsteadily to his feet on the count of eight.
But the red-colored shorts of Arthur soon came forward again. From the other corner, the opponent - in opposing blue - was injured quickly, significant bruising appearing under his eye as the fighters traded powerful shots.
The challenger, 27, delivered effective strikes but the champion, thirty-four, responded in kind with powerful upward punches as the action seldom decreased over twelve rounds.
The victor edged the verdict with scoring tallies of 114-114, narrow lead and 115-112, but the two athletes were persistent and brave, exactly what their idol the legend stood for.
