UK light-heavyweight Joshua Buatsi earned a win yet underwhelming debut to life under new promoters with a decision win over Zach Parker in Manchester.
The Olympic bronze medallist's activity level seemingly secured him a majority decision in a tight 10-round fight at the Manchester venue.
But Parker had his moments, delivering effective single shots in a match where the techniques failed to mesh, with frequent clinching disrupting the contest.
The scoring judges scored it 96-94 for to the winner, with the final judge a 95-95 draw.
"It wasn't my finest showing but what do champions do? They succeed," the victor stated in the arena as he was met by negative reactions from the audience.
The Londoner returned to winning ways after his maiden career setback - an memorable fight with his previous opponent in last winter - to earn a twentieth professional win.
Various analysts felt Parker, 31, deserved the win but the British boxer suffered the second loss of his 28-fight career.
Buatsi Secures Victory in Uneventful Affair
The fighter's advancement has slowed in the past few years through management issues and long spells of inactivity.
Earlier forecast as the rising talent of UK boxing, he now finds himself trying to achieve expectations - possibly in what seems like a final roll of the dice - under recent support.
He began cautiously, with both competitors willing to take risks in a cagey initial rounds.
Parker, whose single earlier setback came at super middleweight against his former opponent in two years ago after damaging his hand mid-fight, was making just his second appearance at light heavyweight.
By the halfway stage, the underdog had made it competitive, making life awkward for Buatsi, who operated with a tight guard to narrowly win the more effective stanzas.
The crowd's patience decreased during constant clinching, with Parker falling to the floor multiple occasions during grappling.
The underdog finished the stronger, but several stanzas were challenging to assess. Although, ex-champion the boxing analyst - working with the broadcast network - had it particularly wide for Parker, giving Buatsi just a single round.
Buatsi moves on, but with the presence of heavy hitter David Benavidez, and Russian champion Dmitry Bivol ruling the division, the road to world glory - on this evidence - still seems difficult.
Ricky Hatton Tribute Inspires Local Rivalry Fight
In the supporting bout, Lyndon Arthur defeated Rea by split-decision in a outstanding local rivalry battle to secure the European light heavyweight title.
The stadium fell silent for a extremely emotional memorial prior to the bout as a bell ceremony sounded in remembrance of Manchester's own Hatton, who passed away 46 years old in recently.
It was the first major televised boxing event in the location since the passing of Hatton. As the last bell faded, the silence transitioned to a chant of "there's just one Ricky Hatton".
The competition inside the ropes equaled the emotion. Arthur was knocked down by a significant blow squarely on the jaw in the early round, getting up unsteadily to his position on the eight count.
But the red-colored attire of Arthur soon pressed ahead again. From the other corner, Rea - in competitive blue - was damaged early, heavy swelling developing under his orbital area as the duo exchanged punishing blows.
The challenger, 27, landed power punches but the champion, thirty-four, responded in kind with powerful upward punches as the action rarely dropped over 12 rounds.
Arthur edged the verdict with scoring tallies of even score, 115-113 and clearer margin, but the two athletes were determined and brave, exactly what their inspiration Hatton stood for.
