UK light-heavyweight Joshua Buatsi made a winning yet unimpressive debut to life under fresh promotional backing with a unanimous decision over Zach Parker in the Manchester arena.
The Olympic medal winner's activity level seemingly secured him a majority decision in a tight ten-round fight at the Manchester venue.
But Parker had his moments, landing some telling individual punches in a match where the techniques didn't complement each other, with constant grabbing marring the fight.
Two judges judged it 96-94 for to Buatsi, with the remaining official a 95-95.
"It wasn't my finest performance but what do champions do? They win," the victor stated in the ringside as he was met by boos from the crowd.
The Londoner returned to winning ways after his first professional defeat - an epic battle with Callum Smith in last winter - to secure a 20th pro success.
Some ringside observers felt Parker, 31, merited the win but the Derbyshire fighter suffered the second setback of his 28-fight career.
The Champion Secures Triumph in Uneventful Affair
Buatsi's progress has plateaued in recent times through promotional disputes and extended periods of lack of fights.
Earlier forecast as the rising talent of British boxing, he now is positioned trying to achieve expectations - possibly in what seems like a final roll of the dice - under recent support.
He started carefully, with the two boxers ready to be aggressive in a tentative opening few rounds.
The challenger, whose single earlier setback came at super middleweight against John Ryder in two years ago after suffering a hand injury during the bout, was competing in only his second fight at the higher weight class.
By the middle rounds, the underdog had stayed in contention, creating difficulties for the favorite, who utilized a protective stance to narrowly win the more effective rounds.
The spectators' acceptance wore thin amid constant clinching, with the challenger going down multiple occasions during grappling.
The underdog closed well, but many rounds were challenging to assess. Although, previous titleholder the boxing analyst - commentating on Dazn - had it strongly leaning for Parker, awarding Buatsi just only one stanza.
Buatsi progresses, but with the likes of power puncher David Benavidez, and Russian champion Bivol leading the category, the journey to titles - judging by this showing - still seems difficult.
Ricky Hatton Tribute Motivates Local Rivalry Battle
In the secondary fight, Lyndon Arthur defeated Rea by close verdict in a outstanding all-Manchester fight to win the European light heavyweight title.
The arena fell silent for a extremely emotional memorial ahead of the contest as ten bells rang in honor of local hero Ricky Hatton, who passed away at age 46 in last month.
It was the premier televised boxing event in the urban center since the passing of Hatton. As the last bell disappeared, the silence transitioned to a roar of "only one Ricky Hatton".
The fighting inside the ropes reflected the emotion. Arthur was sent to the canvas by a left hook directly to the jaw in the early round, rising shakily to his feet on the eight count.
But the red-colored equipment of the fighter soon came forward again. On the opposite side, Rea - in opposing blue - was injured soon, heavy swelling appearing under his orbital area as the pair landed powerful shots.
The challenger, twenty-seven, delivered effective strikes but Arthur, thirty-four, matched the intensity with powerful upward punches as the action rarely dropped over twelve rounds.
The victor narrowly won the decision with official scores of 114-114, close margin and wider gap, but each competitor were relentless and brave, exactly what their idol the legend represented.
