British light-heavyweight Joshua Buatsi earned a win yet disappointing beginning to life under fresh promotional backing with a decision win over Zach Parker in the Manchester arena.
The Olympic bronze medallist's work rate seemingly secured him a judges' verdict in a close 10-round bout 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 excessive holding marring the fight.
Two judges had it 96-94 for to the winner, with the final judge a even score.
"It wasn't my finest showing but how do champions respond? They win," Buatsi said in the ring as he was met by disapproval from the spectators.
The British fighter returned to winning ways after his first professional defeat - an memorable fight with his previous opponent in February - to claim a twentieth professional win.
Some ringside observers believed Parker, 31, merited the decision but the Derbyshire fighter endured the second loss of his 28-match professional journey.
The Champion Claims Triumph in Dull Match
His career development has stalled in the past few years through contract problems and considerable time of inactivity.
Earlier forecast as the rising talent of UK boxing, he now is positioned trying to achieve expectations - possibly in what appears to be a final roll of the dice - under new promotional backing.
He started carefully, with the two boxers willing to take risks in a calculated initial rounds.
Parker, whose sole prior loss came at super-middleweight against John Ryder in 2022 after breaking his hand mid-fight, was making just his second appearance at light heavyweight.
By the fight's midpoint, Parker had kept it close, making life awkward for the favorite, who operated with a solid defense to barely take the more effective stanzas.
The audience's tolerance wore thin because of constant clinching, with Parker slipping to the canvas multiple occasions during clinches.
The underdog finished the stronger, but several stanzas were challenging to assess. Nevertheless, ex-champion Carl Frampton - providing analysis for Dazn - had it particularly wide for Parker, scoring for Buatsi just only one stanza.
Buatsi moves on, but with the presence of power puncher David Benavidez, and Russian champion Dmitry Bivol dominating the weight class, the road to world glory - on this evidence - still appears challenging.
Hatton Tribute Fuels All-Manchester Fight
In the secondary fight, Lyndon Arthur defeated Rea by close verdict in a terrific local rivalry fight to win the European light heavyweight championship.
The arena became quiet for a extremely emotional memorial ahead of the contest as ten bells rang in remembrance of local hero Ricky Hatton, who succumbed 46 years old in September.
It was the first major televised fight night in the city since Hatton's passing. As the last bell ended, the silence transitioned to a shout of "there's only one Ricky Hatton".
The action during the bout equaled the sentiment. The eventual winner was sent to the canvas by a significant blow flush 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 came forward again. Across the ring, Rea - in rival City blue - was damaged early, heavy swelling developing under his face as the pair exchanged punishing blows.
The challenger, 27, connected with strong blows but the champion, thirty-four, matched the intensity with effective uppercuts as the action seldom decreased over the full distance.
The victor narrowly won the verdict with official scores of 114-114, narrow lead and clearer margin, but the two athletes were determined and full of heart, exactly what their inspiration Hatton embodied.
