British light heavyweight Joshua Buatsi made a winning yet underwhelming beginning to life under new promoters with a points victory over Zach Parker in Manchester.
The Olympic bronze medallist's punch output seemingly secured him a judges' verdict in a close ten-round contest at the Co-op Live Arena.
But Parker landed significant shots, connecting with powerful single shots in a fight where the styles never quite clicked, with excessive holding marring the contest.
Two judges judged it 96-94 to Buatsi, with the final judge a even score.
"It wasn't my greatest display but how do champions respond? They win," the victor commented in the ringside as he was greeted with boos from the crowd.
The British fighter returned to winning ways after his maiden career setback - an epic battle with Callum Smith in last winter - to secure a 20th pro success.
Various analysts believed Parker, 31, should have been awarded the decision but the Derbyshire fighter experienced the second setback of his 28-bout professional journey.
Buatsi Secures Win in Dull Affair
Buatsi's progress has stalled in recent times through promotional disputes and considerable time of inactivity.
Earlier forecast as the future of British boxing, he now finds himself trying to fulfil that early promise - maybe in what appears to be a last chance - under new promotional backing.
He started carefully, with the two boxers prepared to be aggressive in a calculated opening few rounds.
The challenger, whose sole prior loss came at super-middleweight against John Ryder in two years ago after breaking his hand in the contest, was making just his second appearance at light heavyweight.
By the fight's midpoint, Parker had kept it close, causing problems for the favorite, who worked behind a solid defense to barely take the better periods.
The crowd's patience diminished amid frequent holding, with the challenger slipping to the canvas various instances during close exchanges.
The underdog finished the stronger, but several stanzas were challenging to assess. Although, previous titleholder the boxing analyst - commentating on Dazn - had it strongly leaning for the challenger, awarding Buatsi just only one stanza.
The victor progresses, but with the caliber of power puncher Benavidez, and Eastern European fighter Bivol leading the category, the path to championship success - based on this performance - still looks steep.
Ricky Hatton Memorial Fuels Manchester Derby Fight
In the co-main event, Lyndon Arthur defeated Bradley Rea by split-decision in a excellent all-Manchester fight to capture the European light-heavyweight championship.
The arena became quiet for a extremely emotional memorial before the fight as 10 bells sounded in remembrance of the city's native Hatton, who died at age 46 in recently.
It was the premier televised boxing event in the urban center since Hatton's passing. As the concluding sound ended, the silence gave way to a chant of "only one Ricky Hatton".
The action inside the ropes equaled the feeling. Arthur was knocked down by a significant blow directly to the jaw in the early round, standing uncertainly to his footing on the count of eight.
But the red-colored attire of Arthur soon advanced again. On the opposite side, the opponent - in rival City blue - was injured early, heavy swelling developing under his orbital area as the pair exchanged punishing blows.
The challenger, 27, delivered effective strikes but the champion, thirty-four, responded in kind with stinging uppercuts as the intensity rarely dropped over twelve rounds.
Arthur narrowly won the result with official scores of even score, narrow lead and 115-112, but both fighters were relentless and full of heart, everything their idol the legend stood for.
