British light-heavyweight Joshua Buatsi secured a victory yet unimpressive beginning to life under recent management with a decision win over Zach Parker in Manchester.
The Olympic medal winner's activity level likely gained him a majority decision in a tight ten-round contest at the Manchester venue.
But Parker had his moments, delivering effective individual punches in a fight where the styles never quite clicked, with frequent clinching marring the action.
The scoring judges had it 96-94 to the winner, with the third a 95-95.
"It wasn't my best performance but what defines champions? They win," the victor stated in the ring as he was faced boos from the spectators.
The British fighter returned to winning ways after his maiden career setback - an memorable fight with Callum Smith in February - to secure a twentieth professional win.
Several boxing experts thought Parker, 31, should have been awarded the decision but the contender suffered the second defeat of his 28-bout career.
Buatsi Earns Triumph in Uneventful Encounter
Buatsi's progress has slowed in recent times through promotional disputes and long spells of inactivity.
Previously predicted as the rising talent of the British fight scene, he now is positioned trying to achieve expectations - maybe in what feels like a last chance - under new promotional backing.
He started carefully, with neither fighter ready to be aggressive in a tentative early stages.
Parker, whose sole prior loss came at super-middleweight against his former opponent in 2022 after damaging his hand mid-fight, was participating in his second bout at light-heavyweight.
By the middle rounds, the underdog had kept it close, causing problems for Buatsi, who worked behind a tight guard to narrowly win the cleaner periods.
The spectators' acceptance wore thin amid frequent holding, with Parker going down multiple occasions during grappling.
Parker finished the stronger, but several stanzas were challenging to assess. However, former world champion Carl Frampton - working with Dazn - had it significantly in favor for the challenger, awarding Buatsi just a single round.
The victor moves on, but with the presence of hard hitter Benavidez, and Eastern European fighter Bivol dominating the weight class, the journey to titles - judging by this showing - still seems difficult.
Ricky Hatton Memorial Fuels Manchester Derby Contest
In the supporting bout, Lyndon Arthur defeated Rea by close verdict in a outstanding Manchester vs Manchester fight to secure the European light heavyweight belt.
The venue became quiet for a extremely emotional tribute prior to the bout as 10 bells sounded in memory of Manchester's own Hatton, who died aged 46 in recently.
It was the premier televised boxing event in the urban center since Hatton's passing. As the concluding sound disappeared, the silence became a shout of "there's only one Hatton".
The action inside the ropes equaled the sentiment. The eventual winner was sent to the canvas by a powerful punch flush on the face in the initial stage, standing uncertainly to his footing on the eight count.
But the red-colored equipment of the fighter soon pressed ahead again. Across the ring, the opponent - in competitive blue - was marked up early, significant bruising forming under his orbital area as the pair landed hard punches.
The challenger, twenty-seven, landed power punches but the champion, thirty-four, responded in kind with effective uppercuts as the pace hardly diminished over twelve rounds.
Arthur barely secured the decision with official scores of even score, 115-113 and clearer margin, but both fighters were relentless and courageous, all the qualities their hero Hatton embodied.
