British light-heavyweight Joshua Buatsi made a winning yet unimpressive beginning to his career under fresh promotional backing with a decision win over Zach Parker in Manchester.
The Olympic bronze medallist's work rate likely gained him a judges' verdict in a close ten-round contest at the Co-op Live Arena.
But Parker found success, landing some telling single shots in a match where the techniques failed to mesh, with constant grabbing marring the action.
The officials judged it 96-94 to Buatsi, with the third a 95-95 draw.
"It wasn't my finest performance but what defines champions? They succeed," Buatsi stated in the ring as he was met by negative reactions from the crowd.
The British fighter returned to winning ways after his initial pro loss - an memorable fight with Callum Smith in last winter - to claim a 20th career victory.
Various analysts thought the challenger, thirty-one, merited the victory but the British boxer suffered the second defeat of his 28-bout professional journey.
Buatsi Earns Win in Uneventful Match
His career development has slowed in recent times through management issues and long spells of lack of fights.
Once tipped as the future of UK boxing, he now is positioned trying to realize his potential - maybe in what feels like a ultimate opportunity - under fresh management.
He opened tentatively, with both competitors prepared to take risks in a calculated early stages.
Parker, whose single earlier setback came at super middleweight against John Ryder in 2022 after breaking his hand during the bout, was competing in only his second bout at the higher weight class.
By the middle rounds, Parker had stayed in contention, causing problems for the favorite, who operated with a protective stance to edge the better stanzas.
The audience's tolerance decreased because of regular grabbing, with the challenger slipping to the canvas various instances during clinches.
Parker finished the stronger, but several stanzas were challenging to assess. Nevertheless, former world champion the boxing analyst - working with the broadcast network - had it particularly wide for Parker, awarding Buatsi just one round.
The victor moves on, but with the caliber of power puncher Benavidez, and Russian champion Dmitry Bivol leading the category, the road to world glory - based on this performance - still appears challenging.
Hatton Memorial Motivates Manchester Derby Fight
In the secondary fight, Lyndon Arthur defeated Bradley Rea by split-decision in a outstanding Manchester vs Manchester battle to capture the continental championship.
The stadium fell silent for a extremely emotional tribute ahead of the contest as ten bells tolled in remembrance of the city's native Hatton, who died aged 46 in last month.
It was the premier televised fight night in the urban center since Hatton's passing. As the last bell faded, the stillness gave way to a roar of "only one Ricky Hatton".
The fighting during the bout matched the sentiment. The eventual winner was floored by a left hook flush on the jaw in the second round, standing uncertainly to his feet on the count of eight.
But the red-colored shorts of Arthur soon came forward again. On the opposite side, Rea - in rival City blue - was injured soon, significant bruising developing under his face as the fighters landed powerful shots.
The challenger, twenty-seven, connected with strong blows but the champion, thirty-four, matched the intensity with powerful upward punches as the intensity hardly diminished over the full distance.
Arthur edged the verdict with official scores of 114-114, 115-113 and wider gap, but both fighters were persistent and brave, exactly what their hero Hatton embodied.
