UK light-heavyweight Joshua Buatsi secured a victory yet unimpressive start to his career under recent management with a decision win over Zach Parker in the Manchester arena.
The Olympic medal winner's activity level likely gained him a judges' verdict in a close 10-round contest at the Co-op Live Arena.
But Parker found success, delivering effective clean blows in a match where the techniques didn't complement each other, with frequent clinching disrupting the fight.
The scoring judges had it 96-94 to Buatsi, with the third a even score.
"It wasn't my greatest performance but what do champions do? They win," the victor commented in the ringside as he was faced disapproval from the audience.
The British fighter bounced back after his first professional defeat - an epic battle with Callum Smith in last winter - to claim a 20th career victory.
Various analysts felt Parker, 31, should have been awarded the victory but the British boxer endured the second loss of his 28-match career.
Buatsi Earns Win in Uneventful Affair
The fighter's advancement has stalled in the past few years through promotional disputes and extended periods of lack of fights.
Once tipped as the next star of UK boxing, he now stands trying to fulfil that early promise - maybe in what appears to be a final roll of the dice - under fresh management.
He started carefully, with both competitors willing to be aggressive in a cagey initial rounds.
The challenger, whose only previous defeat came at super-middleweight against John Ryder in 2022 after damaging his hand mid-fight, was making just his second fight at the higher weight class.
By the middle rounds, the underdog had stayed in contention, creating difficulties for Buatsi, who worked behind a tight guard to narrowly win the more effective stanzas.
The spectators' acceptance wore thin during constant clinching, with Parker slipping to the canvas various instances during grappling.
The underdog ended stronger, but several stanzas were hard to judge. Nevertheless, ex-champion Carl Frampton - providing analysis for the broadcast network - had it significantly in favor for the challenger, scoring for Buatsi just only one stanza.
Buatsi moves on, but with the presence of power puncher David Benavidez, and Eastern European fighter Bivol ruling the division, the journey to titles - judging by this showing - still appears challenging.
Ricky Hatton Memorial Fuels Local Rivalry Contest
In the secondary fight, Lyndon Arthur defeated Bradley Rea by split-decision in a terrific Manchester vs Manchester fight to win the continental title.
The arena fell silent for a extremely emotional tribute before the fight as ten bells tolled in remembrance of Manchester's own Ricky Hatton, who succumbed at age 46 in last month.
It was the initial significant broadcast boxing event in the urban center since Hatton's passing. As the last bell disappeared, the quiet gave way to a chant of "there's only one Hatton".
The competition during the bout reflected the sentiment. The eventual winner was sent to the canvas by a left hook flush on the face in the second round, getting up unsteadily to his feet on the referee's count.
But the red-colored attire of Arthur soon came forward again. Across the ring, Rea - in rival City blue - was damaged quickly, heavy swelling developing under his orbital area as the fighters traded punishing blows.
The challenger, twenty-seven, landed power punches but Arthur, thirty-four, responded in kind with powerful upward punches as the pace hardly diminished over the full distance.
Arthur barely secured the verdict with scoring tallies of even score, 115-113 and clearer margin, but each competitor were relentless and courageous, all the qualities their inspiration the legend embodied.
